Satellite
by thewhiterabbitswatch
Summary: "You're half a world away... but in my mind I whisper every single word you say... and before you sleep at night... you pray to me, your lucky star, your singing satellite." NewWho Season 1. Rated T for language.
1. Annie, Part 1

_The explosions go off in almost every direction, the deafening sounds clashing with the cries of mothers and fathers begging for mercy for their children and screams of those who tried to run away but were struck down in the invasion. Darkness was everywhere and all consuming, and it only seemed to make the sounds of death and destruction much more louder and frightening. But throughout the chaos, there was one sound that could be heard more clearly than any other, that one distorted, mutated voice that made the blood curdle in anyone caught in the way._

 _"EXTERMINATE!"_

 _"EXTERMINATE!"_

 _"EXTERMINATE!"_

1111

 _'Never gonna give you up... never gonna let you down... never gonna run around and desert you...'_

 _Damn it, Mickey._ I groan and shuffle in my bed, rolling to the side so that I can grab my cell phone off the bedside table and turn off my alarm clock, stopping that embarrassing song. He must've changed it yesterday when I wasn't looking. I make a mental note to wallop him next time I see him. Oh well, it's not like I had any real sleep, anyway. It's always like this every single time I have this dream. I can hear the screams in my mind even after I've woken up, and there's nothing that I can do to block it out. It's just so exhausting.

I look over at my clock on the table, seeing that it's 7:00 a.m., and with a groan, I get myself out of bed and into the shower. I've got a test today at 10. I dress in my maroon nurse scrubs and twist my still damp hair into a bun, and after three cups of coffee and toast, I'm out the door at 9.

By noon, I'm feeling better. I meet up with my best mates Rose and Mickey at the fountain in Trafalgar Square for lunch, and they can always put a smile on my face.

"Annie, darling!" Rose greets me, pulling me into a warm hug and giving me a paper cone filled with chips, making me roll my eyes fondly. Mickey smiles at me and I pinched him on the arm for changing my alarm clock, making him flinch. I've been friends with both Rose and Mickey since I was a kid in primary school; we've always been there for each other. Rose Tyler has always been very beautiful, with lovely blonde hair, brown eyes and curvy body, with such an outgoing personality. She's never short of any admirers.

I've always been the wallflower. Five foot one, dark brown wavy hair and hazel eyes, and always too skinny for my own good as my foster mother used to say. I don't have any admirers, don't have any time for make-up and pearls, and I certainly don't have any sanity for it all. The only thing I can focus on now is becoming a nurse; it's all I've ever wanted to be since I was eight years old.

"Annie," Rose began after the three of us catch up, "Mum's wanting you over for dinner tonight, says she'll make that ham and potato soup you like." Rose's mother, Jackie Tyler, has always been sweet to me ever since I first met her, sometimes a little... high in the sky, one could say. Some people would think of 'airhead', but she always does the absolute best she can. I'd always say yes to Jackie.

"Of course, haven't seen her in a few days. Want me to meet you when you get off work?"

"Yeah, if only it'll come quicker," Rose grumbled. She's working at Henrik's department store as a store clerk, and complains about it every chance she gets.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Mickey Smith scoffed playfully beside me. Like me, Mickey's going to school for computers. He's tall and dark skinned and he's always been the definition of the 'lovable nice guy'. Get him as a friend, and he'll be the most loyal friend one could ask for.

I wrap my arm around his shoulders. "Yes, but you're my chopped liver," I reply, and he playfully elbows me. We finish lunch and part ways, and I head to my next class. The rest of the day pretty much becomes a blur, and when 6 p.m. comes around, I'm the first out the door. I take a quick bus to Henrik's, where I see it's already preparing to close. Rose is slinging her purse over her shoulder when I approach.

"Thank God it's finally over," she sighs, taking my hand. "Let's get out of here, I'm starving." But as we turn towards the door, a guard stops up, holding a bag of money in Rose's face. Her shoulders slump and she scoffs in aggravation.

"You need me to wait here?" I ask.

She snatches the bag of money out of the guard's hand and pulls me towards the elevator. "No, it'll just be a minute." We step inside and Rose presses the button for the basement. "I hate when they do this right at the last second." The ding of the elevator sounds and the doors open, and we step into an empty, rather dimly-lit corridor. "Wilson?" Rose calls, the two of us walking towards a rather heavy blue office door with the sign 'H.P. Wilson, C.E.O.' _Lovely._ "Wilson, I've got the lottery money! Wilson?" She knocks and yanks on the door handle, but it's locked and no reply. "You there?" Again, no answer. "I can't hang about 'cause they're closing the shop! Wilson!?" There was still no answer from anyone. "Oh, come on," she whispered.

"Is he always down here?" I ask.

"Yeah, he's usually the last one to leave," Suddenly, there was a sharp noise behind her, like something had been dropped, making us both jump and make my hair stand up. "Hello?" Rose voiced, but no one answered her. "Hello, Wilson, it's Rose."

"Rose, let's go, there's obviously no one down here," I urged, now getting a weird creeping sense of doom forming in the pit of my stomach, telling me to get out of here now. "Just give it to him tomorrow."

"I can't, I'll get in trouble!" She continued down the hall, taking me with her, as we approached a set of double doors; with a careful hand, she swung the door open only to find the room pitch black. With my free hand, I scale the wall beside me to find the light switch and when I did, I only saw a huge storage room filled with boxes and old signs and mannequins strewn about. There's nothing out of the ordinary in here, no one in sight.

"Wilson?" Rose tried again. "Hello?" Still no answer. "Where is he? I don't want to be doing this all night!" She huffed.

"Just give it to him in the morning, I'll vouch for you if they say something about it tomo-" I say, but I was cut off but a sudden, echoing bang behind me when the door slammed shut, like someone had locked us in. The feeling of dread intensified as both Rose and I raced towards it, pulling on the handle with all our might, trying to get it open, but wouldn't budge an inch.

"You're kidding me," Rose whimpered.

"What the hell is going on in here!?" My voice is starting to shake as I try not to get myself worked up into a panic attack. Another sound, like someone is banging on something, makes us stop.

"Who the hell is there?" I yell angrily, having just about enough of this. This has got to be some kind of elaborate prank, someone's hiding down here, and if I find this person, they're going home with a black eye.

"Is that someone mucking about?" Rose called, both of us slowly creeping our way down the storage room, looking to see if anyone was hiding behind the boxes. I caught a faint creak behind me, and turned to see, in my absolute horror, a mannequin very plainly turn it's head to face me and slowly come to life, moving it's arms stiffly.

"Bloody hell!" I gasp, making Rose turn and her eyes widened when she saw the plastic dummy coming towards us, and I saw behind it, that the other mannequins were moving stiffly as well, turning towards us.

"You've got us, very funny," Rose said, trembling as we backed away as they converged closer. They didn't speak or give any notice that they heard her.

"Alright, we've got the joke!" I yell louder. "Who had this idea, then? Huh?" They still didn't say a word, and now I'm starting to get really frightened.

"Is it Derek's? Is it!? Derek, is this you!?" Rose called out as they continued to move closer, making us retreat until we finally back into a wall, where they mannequins surrounded us. The closest ones started to raise their arms over our heads, like they were going to karate chop us. Rose cringed and shut her eyes, waiting for the blow, and I was balling my fist about to punch the closest one just like I had been taught in my self-defense class when I felt a large, strong hand take my left hand and I turn to see a man with the bluest eyes I had ever seen in my life.

"Run," he said, yanking me and Rose out of the way just as the mannequin struck, hitting a pipe on the wall and snapping it in two effortlessly, and we raced down a nearby corridor. Over my shoulder I see the mannequins chase after us and we speed up as they gain on us. The man rushes through the doors at the end of the corridor and spots an elevator and quickly ushers us inside just as the mannequins bursts through. He slams the button and the doors close just as one of them reaches an arm through the door, and the man grabs the arm with both hands and with four strong tugs, the arm comes off with a sickening pop and the doors mercifully close, leaving Rose panting heavily and I sag with relief.

"You pulled his arm off!" Rose said to the stranger, who was examining the arm.

"Yep," he said simply, tossing the arm at me and making me cry out as I catch it. "Plastic." He crossed his arms and stood like nothing had just happened.

"What the hell...?" I murmur as I examine the arm; this was the same arm that had tried to attack me just a few moments ago, that had tried to grab us just now... and it really was a plastic arm. _This isn't possible!_ I look at him, taking in his man's appearance: He was quite tall, at least a foot taller than me, with short, dark hair. He was dressed almost entirely in black except for a red jumper under his large black leather jacket.

"Very clever, nice trick," Rose piped up, sounding fiercely annoyed but still with the slight tremor. "Who are they then, students? Is this a student thing or what?"

"Yeah, is this the bleeding theatre department?" I asked, my nerves on the verge of shattering. "Was that one of their real-time acting projects?"

"Why would they be students?" He asked us.

"I don't know," Rose replied.

"Well you both said it, why students?"

"Cause..." She began, looking at me for a better explanation.

"Well, the theatre students at University like to do some of those public improv shows to get people's reactions and posts them on the internet, they're always doing stuff like that."

"Yeah, to get that many people dressed up and being silly, they've gotta be students," Rose supplied.

The man looked back at us with a smile, like he was impressed. "That makes sense, well done."

"Oh, thanks," I deadpan.

"They're not students," he said.

"Whoever they are, when Wilson finds them he's gonna call the police," Rose said.

"Who's Wilson?"

"Chief electrician."

"Wilson's dead," the man replied emotionlessly, the doors finally opening and he stepped out, leaving us totally stunned momentarily before we followed him.

"That's a sick joke, mate-" I started but the stranger grabbed my arms to stop me.

"Hold on, mind your eyes," he warned, releasing me and turning to the elevator panel on the wall and aiming a silver and blue device, making the tip glow and sound a high-pitched buzz.

"We've had enough of this now!" Rose exclaimed angrily just as the panel suddenly shorted out and sparked, making both Rose and I jump while the stranger just rushed past. "Who are you, then? Who's that lot down there?"

We rush after the man, not letting him out of our sights for a minute. "Oi! Who are they!?" I asked, a little breathless as I caught up with him. "Why were they attacking us?"

"They're made of plastic, living plastic creatures," the stranger answered as he continued ahead of us, weaving through another corridor. "And they're being controlled by a relay device on the roof, which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this." He held up a small square device that was beeping rapidly, and I paled when I recognized it. _Holy shit, it's a bomb._ "So, I'm gonna go upstairs and blow it up!" We reached an emergency exit, and the man swung the doors open, "And I might well die in the process but don't worry about me, no, you two go on." He then practically shoved us out onto the street right behind the building. "Go on! Go and have our lovely beans on toast!" I couldn't help but make a face; I hated beans on toast. "Don't tell anyone about this, cause if you do you'll get them killed." And with that, he shut the door, leaving us startled on the quiet street.

"What just happened?" I asked incredulously. Before Rose could answer, the door swung open again revealing the stranger who saved us.

"I'm the Doctor, by the way, what's your names?" he asked, looking pointedly at us.

"Rose."

"Annie."

"Nice to meet you, Rose and Annie, run for your lives!" and again, he slammed the door shut, and this time I sprang into action, taking Rose's hand and dragging her as far away from the building as quickly as I could, weaving past cars to make it across the street when Rose started to resist.

"Annie wait," she gasped, slightly heaving as she tried to catch her breath; I'll admit that I was a little short of breath too. "You don't think he's gonna actually blow it up, do you?"

"All I know is I don't want to wait to find out." I answered.

"But come on, living plastic creatures? That can't be-"

BOOM! The ground shook as the top part of Henrik's department store suddenly burst into flames, the shockwave of it causing all the windows to shatter simultaneously. Cars came to a screeching halt as pedestrians began to run in all directions to get away from the explosion. I pulled Rose even harder to get her to run, and we sped off as fast as we could.

1111

"I know, it's on the telly! It's everywhere!" Jackie babbled excitedly to her friend on the phone as she came into the living room with two cups of tea for us. We sat on the sofa quietly as we watched the news coverage of the explosion. I still had the plastic arm right next to me, a reminder of what had happened earlier, and as reassurance that I didn't imagine the mannequins or the Doctor. "They're both lucky to be alive! Honestly, it's aged them, especially Rose. Skin like an old bible. Walking in now you think I was her daughter!" Rose shot her mother a look who completely ignored her, and suddenly we heard the door open. "Oh, and here's himself..." Jackie continued in the kitchen as Mickey came in, looking frantic.

"I've been phoning both your mobiles, you could've been dead, it's on the news and everything! I can't believe that your shop went up!" He knelt in front of Rose and hugged her, while she tried to gently wiggle out of his embrace.

"I'm alright, I'm fine! Don't make a fuss!" She said tiredly.

"You called me?" I asked, surprised. My phone hasn't been ringing, has it?

"Yes, and would it kill you to pick it up, Annie?"

"Get off my case, Mickey, we're both fine!"

"Well, what happened?"

"We don't know," both Rose and I said together; we had already been grilled by Jackie about what had happened as soon as we got to Rose's flat, and we agreed earlier to keep the Doctor a secret until we figured out what to do if an inquiry comes knocking. Who is honestly going to believe us when we say that killer mannequins chased after us and some bloke blew it up?

"What was it though, what happened?" Mickey continues to press.

"We weren't even in the shop, we were outside, we didn't see anything," Rose explained.

"It's Debbie on the end," Jackie announced as she came back into the living room, the phone in the nook of her shoulder. "She knows a man on _The Mirror_ , five hundred quid for an interview!"

"Oh that's brilliant, give it here!" Rose snatched the phone from her mother and hung up on poor Debbie, slamming the phone on the coffee table. Jackie rolled her eyes at her daughter and crossed her arms sternly.

"Well you've gotta find some way of making money! Your job's kaput and I'm not bailing you out!" The phone rang and Jackie answered it in a flash. "Beth! She's alive!" And again, Jackie Tyler was immersed in another one of her gossip tales with her snooping friends, retreating to the kitchen. I sigh, getting lost in my thoughts for a moment, unable to think of anything else but the Doctor. Did he make it out? Is he alright? Am I ever going to see him again? He only gave me more questions instead of answers, and there was the quite high possibility that I was never going to get the answers. _I just hope he's okay..._

"What are you two drinking, tea?" Mickey cried in disbelief, taking Rose's cup out of her hands and setting it on the coffee table. "Nah, that's no good, that's no good, you're in shock; you need something stronger." He grabbed both of our arms and tried to pull us to our feet.

"No thanks, Mickey," I protested weakly; I was not in the mood for drinking.

"Now come on, you both deserve a proper drink," Mickey insisted. "We're going down to the pub, the three of us, how about it?" Both Rose and I smirked; there was only one time he would insist on going down to the pub.

"Is there a match on?" Rose asked.

Mickey looked so shocked, like he couldn't believe she asked that. "No, I'm just thinking about you, babe!"

"Oh Mickey, come off it!" I groaned. "There's a match on tonight, isn't there?"

Mickey pouted at me. "That's not the point, but we could catch the last five minutes!"

"Knew it," I whispered conspiratorially, but I shot him a wink. "You should go ahead, I'm probably gonna go home. You and Rose can go."

"Nah, I'm fine," Rose replied. "Really, you go ahead Mickey. Get rid of that." She pointed to the mannequin arm beside me, but I grabbed hold of it.

"It's okay, I'll get rid of it later," I said quickly. Rose eyed me for a moment but Mickey smirked flirtatiously at Rose, motioning for a kiss. Rose relented, giving him a quick smooch before he stood. I rolled my eyes fondly at the PDA. Mickey snatched the arm out of my grip and waved it at us.

"Bye bye!" He teased in a falsetto voice

"Bye!" We cried, our voices just as high, and Mickey took the hand to his neck, pretending to choke himself with it. I reached out and grabbed it back.

"Get out of here, Mick!" I warned gently, watching him laugh as he finally left the flat. I sighed, reveling in the quiet as the Doctor dominated my thoughts once again, my grip on the arm tightening. I really wanted to see him again; I was almost to the point of going out to look for him. But I knew absolutely nothing about him! How was I even going to know where to start?

"Girls, are you hungry?" Jackie called from the kitchen. Rose and I looked at each other for a moment.

"Will you still stay for dinner?" She whispered to me.

"Of course."

1111

An hour and a half later, I left Rose and Jackie's apartment building, called The Powell Estate, and walked home by myself after dinner, despite Rose's protests. I needed this time to think, to be by myself. Today was probably the weirdest day I've ever experienced in my life, but instead of being worried for myself and how I or Rose could've died, my worry went back to that strange man, the Doctor. Always back to the Doctor, no matter how hard I tried to forget him, he always came back to the forefront of my mind. Did he really die in the explosion? Is he safe? I look down at the plastic arm I took with me and examined it; it really was just an arm. But this arm... this arm almost chopped it's hand right into the top of my skull. This arm chopped through a pipe like it was a piece of taffy. Who's to say that the other mannequins didn't kill him, and I won't find out why they came to life?

When I reached the corner of Providence street, I saw a streetlamp and under it, a waste bin. And in my despair, I threw the arm in the bin and continued home.

1111

 _Never gonna give you up... never gonna let you down... never gonna run around and desert you..._

I turn over in my bed and turned off my phone alarm, ready to go back to sleep. There were no classes today, and for the first time in a VERY long time, I slept through the entire night with a dreamless sleep. I was finally able to get some decent rest. How in the world I was able to do that especially after a day like yesterday was, I'll never figure out. I cough, and after realizing that I was probably not going back to sleep, I got myself out of bed, showered myself and dressed in a long sleeved shirt and jeans and tennis shoes. I sat by myself in the kitchen, having coffee and toast, trying to decide whether I should to Rose's today. I knew that she was probably wanting to talk about what happened last night, and honestly I really wanted to forget it. I've already worried myself to death over the killer mannequins and the Doctor and having to talk about it just makes it even worse. I just need to put this behind me. Pretend like it never even happened-

A rustle in my bushes from the garden pulled me out of my thoughts, and at first I thought it was some bird or stray cat, until I heard a soft pained groan from outside, making me freeze. Is someone peeking at me? Slowly, I stood and made my way to the sliding doors on the far right of my kitchen, grabbing a cricket bat that I kept nearby for instances like this. I slid the door open and peered out; there was no one in sight. With my bat tight, I turn on my foot to my right, and instantly met head on with someone, smacking my forehead right into them. The two of us cried out, and I looked up to see who I would be swinging by bat at, and my eyes widened at the sight of the Doctor, who was rubbing his own forehead and looked just as surprised to see me.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I live here!"

"Well, what'd you do that for?"

"What does that mean? Cause I do!" I shot back, watching him reach into his pocket. "What the hell are you doing peeping around in my garden!?" I demanded; he pulled out that silver laser he had last night, making the blue tip flash and buzz.

"Must've got the wrong signal," he muttered mostly to himself, and reached out to knock on my forehead like a door. "You're not plastic, are you? Nope, bonehead, bye then!" He shot me a cheery grin before making a turn to walk away.

"Oh no you don't!" I said, grabbing a fistful of his leather jacket and yanked him inside my house. "Inside now, don't argue." I slid the glass door shut. "Make yourself comfortable," I add, remembering Mrs. McGuiness and how she insisted on proper manners with guests. The Doctor eyed my house carefully and curiously. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" I asked him.

"Might as well, thanks." The Doctor replied. "Just milk."

"Right." I took a cup from the cabinet, and I watched him carefully as he paced through my kitchen, casually peering at some magazines on the table. I studied as much of his appearance as possible, searching for any sign of injury. But he looked perfectly fine, not a scratch anywhere. I then decided to take a good hard look at his face: he looked to be about late-thirties, maybe forty with very short dark hair. His ears stuck out just a bit, making them look larger, but it wasn't detracting; one would say that he was handsome. But there were so many questions that I wanted to ask him, but I found myself getting really nervous. I had been worrying myself to death with the thought of never seeing this man again, and now that he's actually here in my kitchen, I'm starting to clam up? _Get over yourself, Annie._ I steel myself, and I began with the biggest question that had been plaguing me since last night. "Are you alright?" I asked, my voice sounding almost timid.

"Hmm?" He looked up from the magazine at me.

"Are you alright?" I repeated.

"Yeah I'm fine, why do you ask?" He said casually.

"Well, after what happened last night, I was..." I could feel myself floundering under his inquisitive gaze, and I cursed myself for being so awkward. _Why am I acting like such a loser?_ "I was worried that something had happened, that you were injured..."

"Oh, don't worry about me," he replied with a smile, dropping the magazine and picking up another one. "I do this all the time." He opened it to a page with an article about the newest celebrity couple. "That won't last, he's gay and she's an alien."

 _What?_ I stop and stare at him, wondering where those last two comments of his came from. He does this all the time? Alien? But he acted so calm and comfortable as he dropped the magazine and sauntered into my living room, picking up Rose's copy of _The Lovely Bones_ and flipped through it for a total of two seconds before setting it down again.

"Sad ending," he commented.

"Oh, so you've read it before?" I asked.

"Yeah, just now."

"You're telling me you read that entire book in two seconds?" I asked cynically.

"Yep." He now picked up an envelope. "Anais Wilkes..." He murmured.

"Hello!" I chimed and gave a wave; he shot me a wide, cheery grin. "And it's Annie, please. Now if you don't mind, would you please stop reading my mail?" He looks down the envelope in his hands and sets it down, looking slightly sheepish.

"Sorry," he says before turning his attention to a small mirror on the wall to his right. "Eh, could've been worse," he commented to himself as he seemed to take in his appearance, like he'd never even seen his face before. He scrunched his face lightly. "Look at the ears..."

"They're not that bad," I said, not realizing what I'd said until after I'd said it, and I could feel my cheeks getting hot. The Doctor looked back at me for a moment before returning to the mirror.

"You think?" I only shrugged in response, but I could see him smirking at his reflection, making me roll my eyes. _Vain, much?_

"Anyway," I say to get back his attention, there were obviously more things at hand to be worried about than ears. "I have some questions about last night, and I need you to answer them for me."

"Oh I do, do I?" He replied, almost challenging, standing straight with his arms behind his back and looking coolly at me.

"Oh yes you do." I replied; I am not backing down from this. "Especially after-" But I was suddenly cut off when a noise, sounding like a scurrying animal, sounded in my living room, right behind a nearby sofa. The Doctor and I froze.

"What's that, then?" He asked, heading towards it and leaning over it to look behind it. "You got a cat?"

"No," I answer just as he looks closer, but suddenly he jumps back like he's just been electrocuted and when he turns toward me, I see a plastic arm gripping his neck and choking him within an inch of his life. "Oh my God!" I cried and rushed over to him, both of us falling on the sofa as I struggled to pry the arm off his neck, watching his face slowly turn red as the arm choked him harder. With one more yank, I finally jerked the arm away from his neck, my grip loosening on it, making me fall backwards and crash through Mrs. McGuinness' glass coffee table. I saw the Doctor gasping for breath while the arm itself hovered in the air for a moment, it's hand flexing the fingers before it swooped down and smothered my mouth and nose in it's palm, cutting off my breathing. I fought the arm, doing everything I possibly could to get it off while the Doctor knelt above me and started wrenching off the arm. It's grip tightened, squeezing my jaw almost to the point of cracking it; my lungs were starting to burn from lack of oxygen and tears were pouring down my face. Finally, the Doctor grabbed the arm's wrist and twisted, making the hand release my face, and I coughed and spluttered and backed away frantically while I watched the Doctor take out his silver tube device, clicking it several times before pressing the blue tip onto the arm. Immediately, the arm ceased and stilled, leaving the two of us panting and me with a bloody painful jaw and tears still streaming.

"It's alright, I've stopped it," the Doctor breathed, his lips curling into a relieved smile. "There you go, see?" He tossed the arm to me, making me shriek, but I caught it. "Armless." He widened his goofy smile, as though he was laughing internally at his own joke.

He didn't think it was so funny when, in a sudden flash of rage, I whacked him across the head with the arm. The Doctor looked so scandalized, his blue eyes glaring as he touched the spot on his head where I hit him.

"OW!" he shouted. "What was that for!?"

"You think this is funny!?" I fired back. "This freaky, possessed arm suddenly comes into my house and tries to kill both you and me, and you're sitting here making jokes! This arm," I hold it out between us, "THIS almost killed me and my best friend last night, and then you come in with a bomb and blow up a department store in the middle of town, and you act like it's such an average day on the job!" I panted as I finished short tirade; the Doctor at least had enough decency to look ashamed of himself. I looked at him straight in the eyes. "I want answers, and I want them now."

The man chuckled nervously and very gently took the arm way from me, probably so that I wouldn't attack him with it again. "Listen, I'm very sorry this has happened, but it's honestly best that you forget this. The less you know, the safer you'll be." With that, he rose to his feet and started walking out the door. I scrambled to my feet and raced to follow him; he made it to the end of my driveway before I caught up with him.

"Wait, please!" I urged him; he only looked back at me over his shoulder while he continued on. I almost had to jog to keep up with him. "You can't just swan off like that!"

"Yes I can, here I am, this is me swanning off, see ya!" he answered

"The arm tried to kill the both of us back there!"

"Ten out of ten for observation."

"You've gotta tell me what's going on!"

"No, I don't."

I let out a long sigh, trying to keep myself from getting flustered and doing something I'll regret. "Will you please tell me?"

"No I won't," the Doctor simply replied.

"Alright then," I challenged, darting in front of him so that he'd have no choice but to look at me. I probably looked very ridiculous since I still had to keep a steady jog. "If you won't tell me, then I'll go to the police. I will tell everyone, and remember, you said last night if I did that, I'll get people killed. I don't want to do that, mind you, but you'll make me. So your choice: tell me or I'll start talking."

The Doctor just chuckled at my bluff. "Is that supposed to sound tough?" he asked.

"Maybe."

"Doesn't work." We made a right turn onto another street and he just walked right past me. _Okay, let's try something else._

"Who are you?" I asked him.

"Told you," he answered, exasperated. "The Doctor."

"Yeah I got that bit, but Doctor what? What's your surname?"

"Just the Doctor."

"The Doctor!?"

"Hello?" he shot me a cheeky wink and waved at me, just like I did back in my kitchen. That made me chuckle.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" I tease.

"Sort of, yeah," The Doctor teased back, giving me a dopey grin.

"Are you some kind of police?"

"No! I was just passing through. I'm a long way from home."

"So what is all this for? Why does the plastic keep coming to life and attacking me?"

"Oh, suddenly the entire world revolves around you!" The Doctor replied condescendingly. "You were just an accident; you got in the way, that's all."

"Um, excuse me!?" I spat angrily at this guy's tone. "Did you forget what just happened five minutes ago?"

"It was after me, not you! Last night in the shop, I was there, you and your friend blundered in, almost ruined the whole thing! This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down. The only reason it fixed on is cause you met me."

"So let me get this straight," I began, "The world is supposed to revolve around you, right?" I asked sarcastically.

"Sort of, yeah." The Doctor smiled cheekily at me.

"Your ego is astonishing," I replied, and the Doctor shot me a look. "So this 'living plastic' stuff, does anyone else know about it?"

"Nope," he answered.

"No one?" I asked, kind of shocked that no one else had seen killer plastic running around. "You're doing this by yourself?"

The Doctor looked at me, a sudden expression on his face that I couldn't recognize but was gone as soon as it appeared. "Well, who else is there?" he asked. "I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly. While all the time underneath you, there's a war going on!" I let his words process in my brain for a moment, and it got me to really wonder: is he really telling the truth? Was there something going on that was bigger than I ever thought possible?

I reach out and grab the arm from his grip, making him look at me as we turn onto another street. "Please tell me," I said softly. "Start from the very beginning. I mean, if this living plastic stuff is real, how did you stop it?"

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm," The Doctor explained. "I cut off the signal. Dead."

"What, like radio control?"

"Thought control." _Thought control?_ How does someone make that work?Sounds like something from Star Trek. "You alright?" he asked me; I must have been silent.

"Yeah," I assured him. "So who's behind it all, then?"

"Long story," he answered, once again evading the question.

"But why, though? And why use window shop dummies?"

He looked back at me with his expressionless blue eyes. "You really want to know?"

"Yes," I answered immediately, and his response made me wish I hadn't.

"They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you." I stopped in my tracks, letting it sink into my brain. The Doctor stopped his walk a few feet from me when he noticed I had stopped following. "Do you believe me?"

"No," I replied, even though a deep sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach proved otherwise. He raised an eyebrow at me, as though he could see the internal struggle inside of me.

"But you're still listening." He turned again, about to walk away from me, to leave me hanging, again.

"Doctor, please!" I cried, pleading with him. "Who are you, really?" He stopped, turning towards me sharply, looking at me inquisitively but his face growing soft.

"You know like we were saying, about the Earth revolving?" He asked after a moment, and I nodded. "It's like when you're a kid," he continued as he started to walk back towards me, until he stood right next to me, making me suddenly aware of how he towered over me. "The first time they tell you that the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it 'cause everything looks like it's standing still… I can feel it." He gripped my hand suddenly, and his eyes had a startling thousand year stare. "The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, and I can _feel_ it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go…" He let go of my hand, and I released a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding. His eyes came back to the present and he gazed at me sadly. "That's who I am. Now forget me, Anais Wilkes." He took the plastic arm out of my hand and I let him, reeling from what he just said. "Please… go home." And with that, the Doctor turned on his heel and I watched him walk away from me, going further down the street; I watched him until, in sudden despair I couldn't anymore, and I turned and walked in the opposite direction, our entire encounter replaying in my head over and over again, trying desperately to piece some kind of answer to these insane events. But most of all, trying to decipher the enigma that was the Doctor. Why was he going through the trouble of being so secretive and solitary? Why wouldn't he just tell me?

 _I just need to know… I just want to help…_

"Annie!" a voice called out, shaking me out of my reverie, and I saw Rose running towards me, looking pink in the face as though she ran all the way from her house. "Where'd you go, I've been calling you all morning! Why are you crying?"

"What?" I touched my cheeks and indeed found the tears that were streaming. But before I could answer her, a noise that I'd never heard before filled the air, a grinding warble that seemed so quiet, yet so loud and seemed to echo in the morning air. I found myself running back down the street, back to where the Doctor had left me, somehow hoping that he'd still be there, but as the warble quieted, he was nowhere to be seen. Nothing looked out of the ordinary.

"Annie! What is going on?" Rose pressed me urgently. "You're starting to frighten me."

 _I'm starting to frighten myself_ , I thought wearily.

"Come on," I said, grabbing her hand, leading her back towards my house with sudden determination. There was no way I can let this go, not after being almost killed twice in twelve hours. I couldn't just sit back and forget everything, not now. And if the Doctor wasn't going to tell me, then I was going to figure it out on my own.

 **Well, Annie's sure gonna find out soon, huh? ;)**

 **If you guys are reading this, thank you and welcome to my story! This is my very first story that I've posted on here and I am very nervous, to say the least. I'm so nervous right now my hands are shaking! It's either that or I'm having a sugar crash right now, I can't tell.**

 **Now I know what you may be thinking: "Oh God, not another companion story, we've already read this premise, blah blah blah…" But stick with me, okay? I've been developing this story for a better part of two years and there's more to Annie than meets the eye. You will not be disappointed. At least, I hope not. I know the chapter followed the episode closely, and I really tried to do my best to work around it, but I will be changing it up for Annie as we progress into this story. Annie's not going to be just the "typical" companion, IF she even becomes one. And I'll update soon, hopefully in the next week or so, so if you liked it or if you have any suggestions or ideas leave me a review!**

 **And as for Annie herself, I envision her as the actress Emily Browning. If you're not familiar with her, she plays Babydoll in "Sucker Punch" and Violet Baudelaire in "A Series of Unfortunate Events". I think she's a cutie. ;)**

 **Thank you so much for reading!**

 **EDIT: I'm sorry if this looks kinda weird, I posted this earlier and it didn't add my scene breaks and the text didn't look right so I've spent a better part of half an hour trying to fix it. I hope this looks better and not confusing. Sorry for any inconvenience!**


	2. Annie, Part 2

"What the hell happened!?" Rose cried as we entered my house; she gazed at my shattered coffee table with a horrified look on her face.

"The Doctor showed up in my garden this morning," I answered quickly, racing up the stairs to my bedroom and grabbed my laptop from my desk. "Remember the mannequins from last night? Apparently he was tracking it or something and was led here by some kind of signal, and the arm that I brought home last night came to life and attacked us both." I reached the bottom of the stairs to find Rose staring at me as though she was thinking I was on drugs. "Yeah I know, it sounds insane," I set my laptop on my kitchen table and turned it on. "But that's what happened."

"Is that why your face is swollen?" Rose asked, gently running her fingertips along the edge of my jawline, where the arm had squeezed to try and suffocate me. I flinched when she touched a rather sore spot near my chin. "Sorry," she murmured, removing her hand from my face. "So what are you planning to do? Are you going to go to the police?"

"No," I answered as I pulled up a search engine. "I don't have enough information to tell them anything, and if even if I did, do you think they'd listen to a story about window shop dummies coming to life and an arm tried to choke me?"

Once the search engine loaded, I typed in 'Doctor Killer Mannequins' and only got a list of websites to order life-sized slasher film dummies. _Okay…_ I typed in "Doctor Living Plastic" and that one came up empty as well.

"Who says Google has all the answers?" Rose asked sarcastically, kneeling beside me as I sat back in my chair.

"There must be something," I murmured. There must be, but there is hardly anything for me to work with, nothing that-

" _That won't last, he's gay and she's an alien."_

No, there's no way that can be connected to anything. Right?

I cleared the search and typed in "Doctor Alien" and the very first link that came up was "Doctor Who: Do You Know This Man?" As soon as I clicked it, the first image that came up was a blurred picture of the Doctor with the bold print ' **DO YOU KNOW THIS MAN? CONTACT CLIVE.** Rose gasped beside me. _Bingo._

"How did you know to type that?" she asked.

"Just a hunch," was all I could say.

1111

"You're not coming in!" Rose said as Mickey parked on the other side of the street. After spending better part of the morning emailing this Clive about the Doctor, we'd (reluctantly on my part) agreed to meet at this man's house after he insisted, and Mickey had insisted on coming with us. I really hated the idea since I've never met this man before; he could literally be some kind of serial killer. "He's safe, he's got a wife and kids!"

"Yeah, who told you that? He did! That's exactly what an internet lunatic murderer would say!" Mickey replied nervously.

"Don't worry, Mick," I assured him. "Got pepper spray in my pocket, just in case."

"Oh yeah, pepper spray is gonna do the trick!" Mickey replied sarcastically. "Quite right, too!" Rose got out first and pulled the seat forward to let me out since I rode in the back seat, and the two of us made our way towards this Clive's house. Instances like this always made me uncomfortable; I was always really introverted and new situations and new people can really stress me out sometimes, which is why I usually let Rose do the talking. Rose rang the doorbell and I turned to look back at Mickey, who was still sitting in the car and trying his best to look tough. The door opened and before us stood a boy no older than twelve.

"Hello, we've come to see Clive," Rose greeted. "We've been emailing."

"Dad!" The boy called down the hallway. "It's some of your nutters!" _Oh, that's nice, thanks._ The boy stalked off and behind him came an older, pudgy man looking in his early forties.

"You must be Rose and Annie, I'm Clive, obviously." He greeted us, shaking both our hands.

"We should probably tell you, my boyfriend's waiting in the car, just in case you're gonna kill us!" Rose said, giving a light chuckle.

"Oh, good point; no murders." He smiled and waved at Mickey, who was still trying to look tough.

"Who is it?" a female voice from upstairs called out.

"Oh, it's something to do with the Doctor, they've been reading the website. Please come through, I'm in the shed." Rose and I followed him through the house and into his garden, where he had a small blue shed. I tightened my grip on my can of pepper spray still in my pocket.

"A lot of this stuff is quite sensitive," Clive began as soon as he shut the door. "I couldn't just send it to you. People might intercept, if you know what I mean."

"Of course," I reassured him.

"If you dig deep enough and keep a lively mind… this Doctor keeps cropping up all over the place." He pulled a thick blue folder off a bookshelf. "Political diaries, conspiracy theories, even ghost stories. No first name, no last name, just "The Doctor." Always "The Doctor." And the title seems to be passed down to father and son; appears to be an inheritance. That's your Doctor there, isn't it?" He pointed to a nearby computer where it had his webpage pulled up, with the picture of the Doctor.

"Yes, that's him," I answered.

"I tracked it down to the Washington Public Archive just last year," Clive explained. "The online photo's been enhanced, but if we look at the original…" He reached into his folder and pulled out a series of photos. The first was like the one he had on his website; there was a red circle drawn around the Doctor's head. Clive flipped to another photograph, this time it extended to the surrounding crowd. He flipped to another photo, this time extending even further, and my jaw dropped when I recognized the photo.

"November 22, 1963, the assassination of President Kennedy," Clive answered grimly. This was unbelievable; this photo had to be at least over forty years old!

"Must be his father," Rose reasoned, but the feeling in my stomach was saying otherwise.

"Going further back, April 1912," Clive continued, going to retrieve something to the side; Rose and I continued to stare at the photograph of Kennedy, and he came back with another photo that looked even older than the first one. "This is a photograph of the Daniels family of Southampton and _friend_ ," he pointed to a man standing beside a family of five, and despite the older image, I could easily see the face of the Doctor. "This was taken the day before they were set to sail to the new world, on the Titanic, and for some unknown reason they cancelled the trip and survived." The knot in my stomach tightened the longer I looked at the photo; my brain was trying desperately to comprehend and piece together what Clive was showing me. _This just couldn't be possible…_

Clive reached out to his left and took a piece of paper off the wall. "Here we are, 1883, another Doctor," Clive showed us a drawing, this time of an island with a volcano that seemed to be erupting. "Look, it's the same lineage, it's identical!" He pointed to a drawing of the Doctor, right down to the leather jacket. "This one washed up on the shore of Sumatra, on the very night the Krakatoa exploded."

"No way…" I whispered to myself; my head felt like it was about to explode from all this new information. The rational part of me insisted that this was nothing but coincidental, that Clive was just another conspiracy nut, but I couldn't help but think that maybe he was telling the truth.

"The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history; when disaster comes, he's there. He brings the storm in his wake, and he has one constant companion," said Clive.

"Who's that?" Rose asked in a whisper.

"Death." Now I was starting to feel nauseated. "If the Doctor's back, if you two have seen him, then one thing's for certain: we're all in danger. If he's singled you two out… if the Doctor's making house calls… then God help you." I stared at Clive, who looked so grim and worn as he warned us. But for some reason, I couldn't help but think that this couldn't really be what the Doctor was about, despite what had happened to me this morning. He wasn't the sort of person to cause trouble; he proved it when he saved Rose and I last night and when he saved me from the killer arm. If he hadn't been there, we would be dead.

"But who is he?" Rose asked. "Who do you think he is?"

Clive looked right into our faces as he answered, "I think he's the same man. I think he's immortal. I think he's an alien from another world."

1111

"Alright, he's a nutter. Off his head," Rose grumbled as we reached Mickey's car. "Complete online conspiracy freak. You win!" she said to Mickey as I climbed in the back seat and she took her place up front. I didn't say anything; I was trying to calm the so many raging emotions in my overstuffed brain. "What do you want to do tonight?" she asked me. "I fancy a pizza."

"Sure, that's fine with me," I replied dismissively.

"Pizza!" Mickey replied, "P-p-p-pizza!"

"Or Chinese?"

"Pizza!" he exclaimed, starting up the car and pulling out onto the street, weaving the car like he couldn't control it.

"Mickey!" I cried out as he finally straightened out. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, buddy, pal, mate!" he answered, but his voice sounded fake and like a record that skipped. Red flags immediately came up in my head. I didn't say another word until we reached a restaurant in town, where I kept watching him. As we were seated, I noticed that Mickey looked almost shiny and his features were suddenly smoother and proportionate, like a life-size Ken doll. Rose seemed oblivious, rattling on about where she should start in finding a new job. I could only pay half attention as my thoughts were pulled in all kinds of directions, from Clive to Mickey to Rose, and I was getting so close to a migraine. I rubbed my temples to stem it.

"Do you think I should try the hospital?" Rose asked Mickey, who had the fakest smile I'd ever seen on him. The more I look at him, the more uncomfortable I get. "Suki said they had jobs in the canteen. Is that it then? Dishing out chips?"

"I'm sure you can find something better, you're a good worker," I said.

"I could do A-levels. I don't know, it's all Jimmy Stone's fault; I left school 'cause of him, look where he ended up." Ah yes Jimmy Stone: five years older than Rose and the biggest deadbeat if there ever was one. This was before she and Mickey got together, and she had once said she wanted to marry him. I'd never been so appalled at her before. Thank God she finally had some sense in her. "What do you think?"

"I think you could do whatever you put your mind to," I answered honestly.

"Come on, Annie, I ain't got half the brains you got."

"I mean it, Rose. You just gotta get out there."

Rose turned to Mickey, "What do you think?"

"So where did you meet this Doctor?" he asked, completely off topic.

"Oh I'm sorry, was I talking about me for a second?" Rose replied irritably. But Mickey continued as though he hasn't heard her.

"Cause I reckon it all happened back at the shop, am I right?" Why the hell was he suddenly wanting to know about the Doctor so badly?

"No," said Rose.

"Come on," he urged, smiling with such a fake smile that it was giving me the creeps.

"No, Mickey, it didn't," I answered, not going to give anything away to him. Now I was convinced that something happened to Mickey between the time we arrived to Clive's until the minute we left. Whoever did something to Mickey was surely going to attack the Doctor.

"What was he doing there?" He pressed.

"I'm not going on about him, Mickey, I'm really not," Rose answered, "Cause I know it sounds daft, but I don't think he's safe. He's dangerous." She added in a low whisper.

"What was he doing there, Annie?" Mickey turned on me, gazing at me intensely.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mickey," I said shortly.

"But you can trust me mate, buddy, pal, friend, buddy," Mickey jerked his head and spoke as if he was a malfunctioning robot. "You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning and I can help you, Annie." His voice darkened, as though he was threatening me. "Cause that's all I really wanna do buddy, mate, mate, pal, buddy."

"What are you doing that for?" Rose asked, now starting to look alarmed.

"Did something happen to you?" I urged.

"Your champagne," a waiter approached our table, holding out a bottle.

"We didn't order any champagne," Mickey replied instantly, not taking his eyes off me. "Where's the Doctor?" he practically growled, suddenly grabbing onto mine and Rose's wrists and squeezing tightly.

"Madams, your champagne," the waiter tried again, this time stepping beside me.

"It's not ours," I said dismissively. "Mickey, let me go, this isn't funny anymore!"

"Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I need to find out how much he knows, so where is he!?" he growled, squeezing me tighter as I tried to break free of his hold.

"Mickey, stop!" I cried.

"Doesn't anyone want this champagne?" The waiter tried again.

"Look, we didn't order any- " Mickey began, but stopped short when he spotted something behind us. "Ah, gotcha." I finally turn my head and my heart lurched in my chest when instead of a waiter, the Doctor stood and smiled at us as he began to violently shake the champagne bottle.

"Don't mind me, I'm just toasting the best of friends! On the house!" He aimed the bottle at Mickey and unfastened I, making the cork fly out and hit him directly in the forehead. Bust instead of knocking him out or sending him to the floor, the cork actually absorbed into his head, making it wobble and wave like liquid, and then spitting it out right at the Doctor.

"Bloody hell," I gasp, utterly horrified.

"Anyway," Suddenly Mickey stood and raised his hand, and I saw his hand widen and flatten, actually turning into some kind of club and smash it right on the table, karate-chopping it in half, sending both me and Rose backwards to get away from him. Everyone around us started screaming as the Doctor reached forward and grabbed Mickey in a headlock and started jerking until he yanked off my friend's head with a pop. The headless body fell backwards onto another patron's table, breaking the table in half and shattering the china. The Doctor held the head in his hands, where to my astonishment, the head's eyes opened in a glare at him.

"Don't think that's gonna stop me," Mickey's head warned, making a patron scream.

"Rose!" I cried, pointing to the fire alarm beside her, and she slammed her fist as hard as she could into it, causing it to go off. "Everyone get out now!" I screamed to the entire restaurant and everyone just scrambled for the exits. Rose snatched my hand and the Doctor followed us as we raced toward the back, the headless Mickey hot on our tails. We darted through the ends until we ran out the very back, the Doctor just barely shutting the door when the body caught up with us, banging on it with all it's might. I pressed all of my weight on the door while the Doctor pulled out his silver-blue laser and aimed it against the lock, releasing myself once the door locked.

"Open the gate!" Rose struggled against the chained gate door at the far left while the door, pulling on the padlock with all her might. "Use that tube thing, come on!"

"Sonic screwdriver," the Doctor corrected calmly as he just waltzed like he was taking a stroll through the park. I grabbed his arm and tried to get him to move faster; there was a dent in the door getting bigger and bigger by the second as the headless Mickey kept beating on it even harder.

"Doctor come on, we've got to get out of here!" I urged him.

"Nah, tell you what, let's go in here," I was about to ask him what "here" was when he pulled a key out of his pocket and walked towards a tall blue wooden box, the words POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX blazoned at the very top.

"In there!?" I cried, exasperated as he stepped inside.

"You can't hide inside a wooden box!" Rose yelled, still trying her best to get the gate unlocked. "It's gonna get us!"

"Rose, come on!" I practically begged as the door was seconds away from giving out, and I ran inside the box, expecting to run right into a closet space, when my eyes widened at the sight before me.

I was suddenly in a room that was as big as a ballroom with a domed ceiling, with coral-like posts securing the beams surrounding the walls. The floor was covered with what seemed like miles and miles of wires that were protected by a metal grille. But the most impressive sight was that in the very center of the room was a huge circular console that extended all the way up to the ceiling, giving off a low blue glow. The Doctor himself was circling the console, flipping switches and levers, quietly whistling to himself.

"It's gonna follow us!" Rose gaped as she ran inside, stopping just behind me.

"The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me they've tried. Now, shut up a minute," The Doctor said casually, taking the head and actually plugging it up to the console.

"Um…" my voice was lost as I gazed at the indescribable wonder before me, noticing that the entire room seemed to pulse very gently, almost as if… it was _breathing._

"You see, an arm is too simple, but the head's perfect," The Doctor continued, mostly to himself. "I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source." He sat the wired head on the console, the sight of my best friend's head making me nauseated. The Doctor turned to face us with his hands in his pockets, his back very straight. "Right then, where do you want to start?" he asked expectedly.

"The, uh…" Rose stammered behind me, "The inside's bigger than the outside?"

"Yes," he replied with exasperation, as though he's heard this millions and millions of times.

"It's alien," I whispered.

"Yeah."

"You're an alien." I said, already knowing what he was going to say.

The Doctor looked me right in the eyes as he said "Yes."

Surprisingly, despite this outrageous confession, I find myself… relieved. Relieved that finally I was able to get some of the answers I'd been searching for.

"Okay," I simply said, making the Doctor widen his eyes in surprise.

"That's it?" he asked, incredulous, like he'd never seen anyone act like that before. "No alarm or shock or 'what do you mean you're an alien!?'"

"Oh, I'm sure it's coming, stay tuned," I said, still transfixed by this so strange box. "What is this place?"

"It's called the TARDIS, this thing. T-A-R-D-I-S, that's Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"Impressive," I praised. I was pulled out of the conversation when I heard Rose let out a sob behind me. Immediately I rushed over to her and wrapped my arms around her.

"It's alright," the Doctor said. "Culture shock. Happens to the best of us."

"Did they kill him?" She blurted out, suddenly composing herself. "Mickey. Did… did they kill Mickey, is he dead?"

"Oh," the Doctor blinked. "I didn't think of that."

"You didn't _think_ of that?" I asked in a dangerously low voice.

"He's my boyfriend!" Rose yelled. "You… pulled off his head… they copied him and you didn't even think? And now you're just gonna let him melt!?"

"Melt? The Doctor spun back to the console, where indeed the head started to deflate like a football, the skin leaking like a melting ice cream scoop. "Oh no, no, no, no, no!" He scrambled around the console, furiously flipping switches and levers.

"What are you doing!?" Rose cried frantically.

"Following the signal, it's fading!" He swung a computer screen towards him, anxiously gazing at it. I caught a glimpse of the screen, but it only had blinking circles; I couldn't make any sense of it as suddenly the TARDIS started shaking and rumbling, making me grab onto the railing beside me. "Hold on, I've got it… no, no, no, no, no, no!" The box began to shake even harder, and the familiar noise that I'd heard earlier today, that strange, unique wheeze and warble was almost deafening. Just as soon as it started it stopped, the shaking ceasing and the Doctor flying past us and out the door. Immediately, I chased after him.

"Doctor, wait!" I cried. "Don't go out there, it's not…" but my voice trailed off as I found myself in the middle of London, right beside the river. "…safe."

"I lost the signal, I got _so_ close!" The Doctor growled, a deep scowl on his face as he stormed. I was still very bewildered about the fact that we moved from one place to another; how did it even do that!? Rose stepped out and looked just as unbelieving as I felt. I could see the enormous room from the open door and very cautiously, I moved around the blue box, eyeing it; is this his spaceship? For a spaceship, it was quite genius. I'd always thought that aliens were supposed to have flying saucers and look like E.T. or something.

"We moved. Does it fly?" Rose asked.

"Disappears here and reappears there, you wouldn't understand." The Doctor grumbled, his flared nostrils making him look similar to an angry bull.

"But if we're somewhere else, what about the headless thing that's still on the loose?"

"Melted with the head, are you gonna whitter on all night?" he snapped at Rose, making me glare at him.

"Hey, lay off, would you?" I shot at him; he turned his deep scowl right at me.

"Annie, what are we gonna tell his mother?" Rose asked me. All I could really do was shrug; what can I say to Mickey's mum? Her son was killed by evil plastic? Poor woman had already been through so much… I lost my train of thought as we saw the Doctor still staring at us, like he couldn't believe we were still talking about him. "Mickey," Rose flared again, her face red; it was always that color when she lost her temper. "We'll have to tell his mother he's dead and you just went and forgot him _again_! You were right, you are alien." She turned her back on him, looking as though she was desperately trying not to punch him in the face.

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey-"

"Yeah, he's not a kid-"

"It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering about on top of this planet, alright!?"

"Alright!"

"YES IT IS!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, effectively silencing them both, thank God. Their squabbling was giving me a massive headache. I took a deep breath and exhaled out off my nose. "Right, now that we're done with the yelling," I continued in a much quieter tone, and turned towards the Doctor. "Now, a couple of questions. First, what exactly is a police public call box?"

"It's a telephone box from the 1950's," he replied, smiling with pride as he stood beside it. "It's a disguise." His oozing enthusiasm made me smile; boys and their toys.

"Now this living plastic, what's it doing here? What's it got against us?" I asked.

"Nothing, it loves you," he answered. "You've got such a good planet, lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. It's food stock was destroyed in the war, all it's protein planets rotted, so Earth, dinner."

"Any way of stopping it?" Rose asked beside me. The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a large test tube with a dark blue liquid.

"Antiplastic," he simply responded.

"Antiplastic?" Rose and I said flatly; the fate of the world depends on _antiplastic_?

"Antiplastic! But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something this big in a city this small?" the Doctor asked, mostly to himself as he started pacing beside us.

"Find what?" I pressed him.

"The transmitter! The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

"Okay, well what does it look like?"

"Like a transmitter!" _Oh yeah, that helps so much, thanks._ "Round and massive, somewhere slap bang in the middle of London! A huge metal, circular structure, like a dish, a wheel, a radial, close to where we're standing! Must be completely invisible." He stopped his pacing with a frustrated sigh, and that's when I noticed that behind him stood the London Eye. A dish, a wheel, a radial, huh? I start to smile.

"What?" the Doctor asked, noticing that I was staring behind him. Rose could see it, too; her eyebrow was raised as she started to smirk. He looked behind him for a second and then back at me. "What?" he asked again, and I nodded back to the Eye. He looked again. "What is it, what?"

"Seriously!?" I barked at him, and I grab him by his upper arms and spin him around to face the Eye, hoping he'd get the hint. He froze for a moment before doing a double take from me back to the Eye. "Oh," he murmured as the light bulb finally went off in his brain.

"Yeah," I deadpanned with a chuckle. The Doctor face lit up, grinning from ear to ear.

"Fantastic!" and suddenly he was off, sprinting along the river. Immediately Rose and I chased after him, making sure to keep him in my line of sight. Soon, I caught up with him, which was surprising since he was a very fast runner and I've not been one to be athletic. Once I caught up with him, he took hold of my hand, and faster we sped off, Rose right behind us, and descended down stone steps closer to the river. We finally stopped, and I had to put my hand on my knees to catch my breath. _Holy shit, I need to work out more!_

"Think of it," the Doctor __began, "Plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables..."

"The breast implants," Rose added cheekily, making me giggle.

"Still, we've found the transmitter," the Doctor continued as though he hadn't heard her. "The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath." I glanced back at the Eye, now looking so massive as I stepped closer to it. There has to be some kind of entrance to a power source, something that makes it go... and that's when I saw it: a raised hatch at the end of some stone steps, like it could lead us underground.

"Doctor!" I cried; he and Rose were at my side in an instant. "Do you think that could be it?" I asked, pointing to the hatch.

"Looks good enough to me," he replied, and the three of us raced down the stone steps. The hatch itself looked rusted, as though it hadn't been opened for a while. With a grunt, the Doctor lifted the hatch, where an eerie red light and hot steam came up. It made me think of _Dante's Inferno_ and that I was seeing the entrance into Hell. The Doctor started to climb down with eagerness and I followed suit down a ladder, deeper underground. I wanted to see this 'Nestene Consciousness' myself. After having been chased by mannequins and a killer plastic arm, I needed to see it.

Rose followed me down the ladder, and I could tell she was starting to get nervous. "Yeah, this isn't weird at all," she quietly murmured.

"You're telling me," I replied. My foot finally hit the ground and I find myself in a stone room, lined with pipes and chains and looked quite creepy. The Doctor was examining a heavy metal door on the other side and he pushed the door open. A hot flash of steam suddenly hit me in the face, making me cough and cover my mouth. I always had a problem with intense heat; it could make me wheeze and set off an asthma attack. I've not had one of those in years. Rose squeezed my arm as we followed the Doctor inside a massive stone room, lined with metal stairs and chains on the walls.

"The Nestene Consciousness," he announced, motioning to the very center at the bottom. There was a giant vat that was filled with a deep orange blob of what looked like molten lava that gurgled and rumbled, bubbling and waving.

" _That_?" I asked, in total disbelief. This was the thing responsible for attacking me? This wants to take over the planet?

"Yes," the Doctor answered. "That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature."

"Well then, dip in your antiplastic and let's go," Rose urged. The Doctor looked at her with a slight admonishing look.

"I'm not here to kill it," he said, descending closer down. "I've got to give it a chance."

"A chance for what!?" I whispered, horrified. Why the hell does he want to give that thing a chance if it's gonna try to kill us!? The Doctor didn't answer me but continued down, until he stopped a level down and stood with his back straight, his hands leaning against a railing.

"I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract," the Doctor said, his voice loud and clear. "According to Convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation." The Shadow Proclamation? What was he talking about? Was that the Doctor's organization? "If I might have permission to approach?" And to my complete astonishment, the blob started to respond to him, but instead of speaking, it started to growl like some kind of animal.

"Oh my God!" Rose cried beside me, racing further down the steps, and I immediately saw why.

"Mickey!" I cried, booking it down the steps behind Rose. He was already clinging to her when I reached him; poor guy looked totally frightened. He started grabbing my arms frantically when I kneeled beside him to check him over for any injuries. Besides being totally shaken, he wasn't hurt, thank God. "Mickey, are you alright!?"

"Annie!" he whimpered just as the Doctor passed by us. "Annie, the thing down there! The liquid, it can talk!"

"Shh, I know, just calm down, take deep breaths," I coached him in a gentle voice, letting my nursing training take over. "We're gonna get you out of here."

"Doctor, they've kept him alive!" Rose cried, relieved.

"Yeah, that was always a possibility," he replied offhandedly, like it was an afterthought. "Keep him alive to maintain the copy." And just continued strolling past us.

"You knew that and you never said?" Rose asked, looking as though she was getting ready to punch him in the face.

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" The Doctor asked, almost patronizing. _Jeez, what a jerk._ The Doctor stepped down to the level below right, right above the vat where the Nestene Consciousness continued to roar and screech, the lava now starting to take shape of a twisted and mangled face. "Am I addressing the Consciousness?" he asked it, and it screeched in response. I rose to my feet, leaning against the railing and watched the encounter anxiously. "Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warped shunt technology. So may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" he added cheekily, making the fiery blob screech even louder.

I facepalm, groaning at the Doctor's very lame joke. _We're gonna die._

"Oh don't give me that, it's an invasion, plain and simple! Don't talk about constitutional rights!" The Consciousness continued to growl and twist in the vat, like it was arguing with the Doctor. "I AM TALKING!" The Doctor roared, as though this was such a normal argument. "This planet is just starting; these stupid little people have only just learned how to walk but they're capable of so much more! I'm asking you, on their behalf, please just go."

I didn't have time to be offended by that last remark of his, because I saw two mannequins sneaking behind him. "Doctor, look out!" I yelled, but it was too late; both of the mannequins had grabbed him and pinned his arms behind his back. Without thinking, I darted forward to try and help him, but both Rose and Mickey grabbed me to stop me.

"Annie, don't!" Rose urged, and we watched as one of the mannequins had reached into the Doctor's jacket and pulled out his vial of antiplastic. _Oh great, there goes that._ The Nestene Consciousness roared.

"That was just insurance, I wasn't going to use it!" The Doctor tried to reason to it, but it continued to screech like an animal. "I was not attacking you, I'm here to help! I'm not your enemy, I swear, I'm not!" The growling continued as he tried to get himself out of the mannequin's hold. "What do you mean?" the Doctor asked in a panicked voice, and behind us a door suddenly opened, revealing the TARDIS. _Well, at least there's a way out._ But how do I get the Doctor out of this?

"No, no, no! Honestly, no!" The Doctor cried desperately. "Yes, that's my ship." In response, the Consciousness continued to gurgle and roar, it's twisted, warped face rising higher out of the vat. "That's not true! I was there, I should know! I fought in the war, it wasn't my fault!" I noticed the change in the Doctor's voice, the despair and pain that somehow seemed to echo. And it pierced me. "I couldn't save your world, I couldn't save any of them!" The Consciousness screeched threateningly at him.

"What's happening!?" I yelled to him.

"It's the TARDIS! The Nestene's identified it as superior technology, it's terrified!" The Doctor struggled to get out of the mannequin's hold on him. "It's going to the final base! It's starting the invasion! Just get out Annie! Just leg it now!"

Mickey started yanking on my arm to pull me to the exit just as Rose pulled out her phone. "Mum?" she yelled over the noise. "Where are you, Mum!? No, just go home, just go home right now! Mum! Mum!"

"Where's Jackie!?" I yelled to Rose who shoved her phone back into her pocket.

"She's in town, we've gotta get out of here and find her!"

"But the Doctor-" I was suddenly interrupted when a bright flash of lightning came from the center of the vat out of the mangled Nestene Consciousness and hit the center of the ceiling, setting everything that was nearby on fire. "Doctor!"

"It's the Activation signal! It's transmitting! Get out, Annie!" The Doctor called from below, still in the mannequin's hold. "Just get out! Run!"

"The stairs have gone!" Rose cried as the steps crashed down below, leaving us trapped. Rose grabbed both Mickey and me and we ran to the TARDIS, but the door was locked.

"Really!?" I snapped angrily.

"I haven't got the key!" Rose whimpered. I look over my shoulder, still seeing the Doctor struggling. I tried to run to help him, but my friends wouldn't let go of me. "We can't just leave him!"

"There's nothing we can do!" Mickey cried, sinking to his knees in front of the door. "We're gonna die."

"We have to help the Doctor!" I argued desperately. "He can get us out of here!"

"Or he's gonna do an even quicker job of killing us!" Rose countered.

"But we can't-"

"Annie, are you hearing yourself!?" she yelled, sounding so flustered. "Are you really going to risk your life for some bloke from outer space!? Look around you! The world is about to end and we're gonna be first if we don't get out of here!"

The Nestene Consciousness roared and growled, still twisting and gurgling, but for one moment, one very strange moment, it spoke. "Time Lord," a deep demonic voice seemed to echo even over the noise. _What's a Time Lord?_ The Doctor looked back up at me with such desperation on his face, but somehow, in a strange, indescribable way, I knew the desperation wasn't for himself. It was for me. Me and my friends.

"Annie!" Rose called in my ear. I looked her for a moment; my best friend who was gazing at me like I'd completely lost my mind. Maybe I did. But I tore my arm out of her grip and ran. On the wall several feet away was a fire axe, and I tore it off the wall with both hands. "What the hell are you doing!?" she screeched as I reared my arms back and his the chains with all my strength, hitting it three times before the chains broke off the wall and I was able to pull some down. Without thinking, I grabbed the chain tightly and took three huge steps before swinging off the ledge, lifting up my legs so that I could kick the mannequin off the Doctor, who angled it so that I could send it over the edge. I almost missed the other mannequin that held the antiplastic, but I just barely managed to sweep the and send it too over the edge. The Doctor caught me as I swung back over, setting me on my feet as the Consciousness screamed with a piercing, agonizing screech that hurt my ears. The Doctor had his wide smile plastered on his face, and I couldn't help but smile, too. That was probably the craziest thing I've ever done in my entire life.

"Now we're in trouble," he said as an explosion suddenly went off. He snatched my hand and we ran back up the steps where Rose and Mickey were waiting by the TARDIS, the Doctor reaching into his pocket and pulling out his key. The four of us stumbled inside and the Doctor raced to the console, slamming down a lever and sending us off. Only a moment passed before he landed, and Mickey wasted no time in stumbling out, even moving on his hands and feet to get away from the box as far as possible. We had landed in an alleyway, far away from the London Eye.

"Mickey, calm down!" I urged, following him until he reached a rubbish bin. "It's going to be alright. Nobody's gonna get you anymore, I promise."

"Mum's alright," Rose breathed a sigh of relief as she came up beside us. "Blimey, how are we going to explain that?" But before I could answer, the Doctor's voice sounded behind us.

"Nestene Consciousness?" he said casually, standing in the doorway of the TARDIS with his cheesy smile. He snapped his fingers. "Easy."

"What?" I groaned. "Are you serious? If it wasn't for me, you'd be kibbles and bits for the Nestene Consciousness."

The Doctor's smile softened. "Yes, I would. Thank you."

"Any time." I said with a smile of my own. I couldn't help but feel awkward about this moment now… what else can I say? What is the Doctor going to do now, go back in his spaceship and we just pretend like this never happened? Just remember today as the weirdest day of my life and move on?

"Right then, I'll be off," The Doctor announced, "Unless… I don't know… you could come with me."

Wait, what?

"Come with you?" I repeated, my voice higher from disbelief.

"Oh yeah," he said. "This box isn't just a London op, you know. It goes anywhere in the universe, free of charge."

"Don't, Annie!" Mickey whimpered, holding onto Rose like a lifeline. "He's an alien! He's a... thing!"

"Mickey!" I lightly scolded; just because he was scared shitless doesn't mean he could still be rude.

"He's _not_ invited," the Doctor said pointedly. "So what do you think?"

"Doctor..." I sighed, still blown away that he even asked me this. "I can't just drop everything in my life to go travelling. I've got nursing school to finish! I can't miss that. And I've got my house... and I especially can't leave these two behind." I motion to my friends behind me. I couldn't just hop away to some galaxy a million light years away.

The Doctor only nodded. "You don't like to leave people behind. I get it. But there's millions and millions of planets and civilizations out there that you'd never even believed existed. And you'd get to see them all. But this is the best part," he looked at me right in the eyes with a secret smirk. "Did I mention it also travels in time?" My eyes widened at his revelation. The box was also a time machine? Now I've heard it all. The Doctor turned and stepped back into the TARDIS, leaving me alone to process this.

Now what do I do? I could stay and do the responsible thing, or... I could see firsthand just what the universe had to offer. I knew that this would be my only chance; if I stay, I may never get another opportunity. And the more I stared at the box, the more I longed for it.

I looked back at Rose, who had been silent throughout the entire conversation. "What would you do?" I whispered to her.

"Me?" She simply asked. "Well, I'd go in a heartbeat. Like he said, he had a time machine, right? He could have you back in five minutes. You wouldn't miss a thing here. But what do _you_ want to do?" I looked back at the box for just a small moment, feeling the pull towards it so strong. Rose smiled at me. "Go, Annie. Just have him bring you back in five minutes, yeah?" Her big brown eyes started to water just a little bit, and I embraced her tightly, giving my best friend a kiss on the cheek. She gave me a squeeze around my middle for a second before releasing me, and I turned on my heel. With an excitement I'd never felt before, I sprinted towards the blue box as fast as I could.

 **Welp... I dropped the ball, I'm so sorry. I know I was supposed to have this posted over a month ago. School and a crappy retail job was a big part of it, but I also have the WORST attention span and focus. I'll sit down to write this and then five minutes later I'm just binge watching Markiplier's Let's Plays. I love him, he's my favorite YouTuber. :)**

 **I will be doing better on the timely uploads, I promise. One of the things I really hate about some writers is where they won't post a chapter for months and leave me hanging on a story, and I'll forget about the story, and when they finally post one, I have to go back to the beginning and read it to refresh myself on the fic and it's just annoying sometimes. So I will me disciplining myself harder on getting the chapters uploaded. Thanks so much for your patience.**

 **Oooo, I've got some reviews! Hooray! I will be replying to the reviews at the end of the chapters, simply because it is easier, and if there's some constructive criticism, I do want time to go over the review and try my best to apply it to the story. It's because of you guys that make me want to write better.**

 **Loulouflowerpower: oh my gosh, thank you so much, I'm so glad you loved the chapter! That coming from you means a LOT since I read your stories of the Hatter all the time. I'm really loving your latest installment, by the way. As for Rose... she's not my favorite companion *cough Romana Sarah Jane Donna cough* but I don't hate on her. I do believe her character got written a little poorly towards the end of her run, making her just totally hung up on the Doctor to the point where it almost got people killed. In the first season, I really did like her because she was quite relatable, but once season 2 came along, the dynamic between her and the Doctor just got annoying to me. In this story, I do plan to write her in a better light since she's Annie's closest friend, but there will be times where Annie may have to keep her in check if Rose's head get too big.**

 **Brazen Wulf: Hello to you as well! Thank you so much for the kind review! The summary is actually from a song that gave me the inspiration for this story. It's "Satellite" from Above and Beyond. They're my absolute favorite music group. The song itself really describes the relationship between my character and the Doctor, and this song will come up again later in this story. Won't say when, though. ;)**

 **Thank you guys so much for the kind reviews! If you like this story, give it a review! Tell me what you think! Or if you have any questions, send me a PM and I'll respond as quickly as possible. In the next chapter, we'll see one of Annie's best known talents, and she'll find out more about our favorite alien! See you soon!**


	3. The End of the World, Part 1

"Right then, Annie Wilkes," The Doctor said as I bounded over to the console, practically bouncing on my heels in excitement. "Tell me, where do you want to go?" He stood by the console with a casual smile as he tossed a small object lightly in the air. "Backwards or forwards in time? It's your choice, what's it going to be?"

 _My choice? How the hell does one choose!? Anywhere in time and space…?_

"Forwards," I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. The Doctor set the object onto the console and flipped some switches, making the box gently warble and hum as it powered up, the sound making my stomach do even bigger backflips.

"How far?"

"Umm…" I again blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "One hundred years?" With a few more flips of some switches and a hard pull on a heavy lever, the box began to shake and wave, like a roller coaster starting up. I held onto the console, trying to keep myself together. As soon as it started, the Doctor turned a dial and the box stilled, releasing a small hiss of steam from the console.

"There you go," the Doctor announced. "Step outside those doors, it's the 22nd Century."

"No way!" I gasped, glancing over my shoulder to the doors.

"That's a bit boring, though. Do you want to go further?"

"Yeah," I squeaked, and he got to work, making the box shake even harder. Once it stopped, the Doctor had a full-blown smile as he motioned towards the door.

"Ten thousand years in the future. Step outside those doors, it's the year 12,005: The New Roman Empire."

"You're joking!"

"I never joke when it comes to time travel."

"Well, aren't you hot to trot?" I lightly teased. "You must think you're so impressive."

"I am so impressive!" he argued hotly, the smile dropping off his face.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged, crossing my arms over my chest. "Let's see what you got, spaceman."

"Right then," his lips curled into a defiant smile as he accepted my challenge. "You asked for it, I know exactly where to go." He worked harder than ever, the TARDIS shaking even more wildly and the grinding almost deafening. I was suddenly afraid that the TARDIS was going to break down when he finally pulled down a lever and with a _ding_ , the box stilled and it was silent. I let go of the console, taking a deep breath to control my shaking.

"Where are we?" I finally squeaked. The Doctor didn't answer; he only smiled and motioned to the doors. "Where'd you bring me?" he still didn't answer, just holding his hand out towards the doors. _Fine, then._ I step towards the doors and very carefully I push them open, sticking my head out; we had landed in what seemed to be an auditorium. It was bright, amphitheater-style with raised seats, and a raised screen at the left hand wall. Honestly, I didn't feel any different than I usually did. I don't really know just how different I should feel. The Doctor stepped out behind me, walking up towards the auditorium doors and flashing the sonic screwdriver at a keypad on the wall beside it, and suddenly the screen came down, revealing a sight that I would never forget.

Before me was a view of the Earth, shining brightly like a blue jewel in the dark expanse of space. Behind it, glowing even brighter, was the Sun. It was so strange to see, yet totally breathtaking.

The Doctor came to stand beside me. "You lot," he said in a quiet voice, "you spend all your time thinking about dying. About how you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible: that maybe you survive."

"We really survive?" I asked him, kind of shocked. I'd always figured we'd end up killing ourselves because pollution or obesity or because no one got their kids vaccinated.

"Oh yeah," he said simply. "This is the year 5.5/Apple/26. Five billion years in your future. And this is the day... hold on," he looked down to check his watch when suddenly the Sun flashed and released a huge burst of energy that seemed to make the Earth shake. All of a sudden, what seemed like such a beautiful sight became so terrifying. "This is the day the Sun expands." The Doctor looked at me with his deep blue eyes. "Welcome to the end of the world."

The end of the world? Why the hell did he bring me here!? Was it because I teased him? I didn't think it was bad enough to want to show me the death of my home planet? What did I get myself into?

"The party should start any minute," he said after a moment, turning and ascending towards the doors.

"Party?" I finally squeaked, following him as he began to turn to the corridor. The place looked like a museum.

 _"Shuttles five and six now docking,"_ a female voice sounded over the intercom. _"Guests are reminded that Platform One forbids the use of weapons, teleportation, and religion. Earth death is scheduled for 15:39, followed by drinks in the Manchester Suite."_

"So who are the guests?" I asked as he and I continued down the corridor. "Do they mean people?"

"Depends on what you mean by people," he replied.

"Well, people. Who do you mean?"

"Aliens." We turned a corner down another hall, and I tried to process what he just told me. Aliens are being invited to watch the Earth get vaporized?

"So they've all gathered on this spaceship?" I continued as the Doctor stopped, taking his screwdriver and flashing it at a keypad next to a set of heavy looking doors, making them slide open.

"It's not really a spaceship, more like an observation deck. The great and the good are gathering to watch the planet burn."

"Why?"

"Fun." He lead me inside a huge ballroom, with a glass wall at the other side, showing the Earth and the Sun much closer. "Mind you, when I say 'the great and the good', what I really mean is 'the rich.' "

"Wait, they taught about this in school, the sun expanding," I said, hoping that I was keeping up with this. "But that's supposed to take thousands and thousands of years, right?"

"Millions," the Doctor answered as we stood before the window. "But the planet's now property of the National Trust; they've been keeping it preserved. See down there?" He pointed towards the bottom of the Earth, where I saw very tiny white flecks circling it. "Gravity satellites holding back the Sun."

"Earth doesn't look like it's changed much," I commented. "Aren't the continents supposed to move and shift?"

"They did, and the Trust shifted them back. That's a classic Earth. But now the money's run out, nature takes over."

"Isn't anyone stopping this?" I had to ask. "You'd think that all the people would be scrambling to save it, especially if they're about to be burned alive."

"No one's lived on Earth for thousands of years," The Doctor assured. "The world ultimately became inhabitable, so they all left. Humans have colonized half the Universe."

"Well, that's good... I think," I murmured. "So how long does the Earth have?" The Doctor checked his watch again.

"About half an hour, and the planet gets roasted!" He said almost excitedly, making me slightly unnerved. I didn't know what else to say, so I just continued to gaze at the blue planet, almost like I was subconsciously trying to memorize it. It was such a strange feeling; technically, I'd been long since dead and buried and turned back to dust, so had Rose and Mickey and Jackie... all of us, long gone. Seeing it before my eyes made me suddenly feel so very lonely. That had always been the worst feeling for me, loneliness.

"Who the hell are you?" A voice barked behind us, making us jump and turn, and my eyes widened at the sight of a tall, blue-skinned man in brown and dark gold robes come towards us. His skin was deep blue, his face had intricate black designs under his eyes and cheeks, and his eyes were yellow and shaped like a cat's. But right between his eyes was a blue jewel. He was certainly a sight to behold.

"Oh that's nice, thanks," The Doctor deadpanned.

"But how did you get in?" He demanded critically. "This is a maximum hospitality zone! The guests have disembarked! They're on their way any second-"

"No that's me, I'm a guest! Look, I've got an invitation!" The Doctor had reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a small leather case and held it out in front of the alien's face. The poor alien's blue face lightened considerably, almost as if he'd paled. "Look there, you see? It's fine, see? 'The Doctor, plus one'. I'm the Doctor, this is Annie Wilkes, she's my plus one. Is that alright?"

"Well... obviously," the blue man conceded, trying to save face after the faux pas. "Apologies, et cetera. If you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy." He gave us a smile that looked more like a grimace and stepped away from us. The Doctor leaned in closer, showing me the leather case. "The paper's slightly psychic," he explained in a whisper. "Shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time."

"Really? What does it say?" I asked, taking it from him to look at it, but the case only had a blank piece of paper in it.

"You can't read it?" The Doctor asked, his eyes widening as he looked at the paper.

"No, it's blank. Is that bad?"

The Doctor just gazed inquisitively at me for a moment, a grin spreading on his face. "Nope. Just means you're smarter than the average human." He shoved the psychic paper back into his pocket as the blue-skinned man approached the podium and began to speak.

"We have in attendance, the Doctor and Annie Wilkes," he announced; the Doctor gave a cheeky grin and a wave, making me roll my eyes at him. "Thank you. All staff to their positions!" The blue man clapped, and suddenly a group of at least twenty smaller blue-skinned aliens flooded the ballroom, chattering excitedly as they gathered to their positions. "Hurry now, thank you! Quick as we can, come along, come along! And now, I might introduce our next honored guest! Representing the Forest of Cheem we have trees! Namely Jabe, Lute, and Coffa!" Three humanoid shaped tree aliens stepped inside the ballroom, their skin covered in bark like they really were trees. There were two men and one female; the tree woman was wearing a red and gold gown and had the air of royalty; the two men were in all black, and they were flanking her as though they were her bodyguards.

"There will be an exchange of gifts, representing peace," the blue alien continued as more aliens came into the ballroom. "Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, we have the Moxx of Balhoon," A very squat, blue-skinned alien with a giant head and a very sour expression came over, sitting in what looked like a very advanced motor wheelchair. Beside me, the Doctor was smiling excitedly; he looked as though he was having the time of his life. "And next, from Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme," A group of five figures stepped forward, all of them fully cloaked in black cloaks, even covering their faces. They were very unsettling; they reminded me of horror movies where there were demon priests. Ugh, I hate it when Mickey makes me watch those movies. The blue man continued to read off the names and titles of more guests, each one of them looking more outrageous and unreal than the other.

"The inventors of Hyposlip travel systems, the brothers Hop Pyleen! Thank you!"

"Cal Sparkplug…"

"Mr. and Mrs. Pakoo…"

"The Ambassadors from the City State of Binding Light…"

"So that blue man at the podium, who is he exactly?" I whispered to the Doctor.

"He's the Steward of the observation deck," the Doctor answered. "Basically the host of the party." Suddenly, the three tree aliens came towards us, one of them holding a tray with an assortment of small potted plants.

"The gift of peace," the tree woman greeted us, her voice deep and regal, and she handed the Doctor a plant. "I bring you a cutting of my grandfather."

"Thank you," said the Doctor sincerely as he accepted the plant and handed it to me. It was simply a twig with little green leaves at the tips of the tiny branches. This little thing was her grandfather? "Yes, gifts, um…" the Doctor started patting himself down, trying to find something to give to this woman. "I give you in return air from my lungs." And he leaned forward and gently blew on this tree woman. Instead of giving him some kind of strange look, which I was probably doing, she looked dazed, and her cheeks darkened in a blush, which I didn't think it was possible since she was made of wood.

"How… intimate," she said airily.

"There's more where that came from," The Doctor said, shooting her a wink.

"I bet there is," she almost sighed flirtingly, making me roll my eyes at the sight of them. Without another word, the tree people walked on, continuing to hand out more of the potted plants, and I elbowed the Doctor in his side.

"What?" he asked.

"Look at you, lady killer," I teased, and to my great amusement, I saw his ears turn pink as he shot me a look. "You should get her number."

"It's not like that," he replied in a grumble.

"I bet it isn't." I added cheekily. The Doctor was about to give a remark when we were interrupted by the Steward introducing the next guest.

"The sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Boe," Came forward was a giant glass case, looking like a huge aquarium, but inside the case was a gigantic head with red eyes and tentacles coming out the sides. Only the eyes moved; they swept the room, seemingly talking in all the other guests.

"Bloody hell," I quietly gasped, still gazing in amazement at the head. I had to straighten up, another alien was coming toward us; this time, it was the blue squat alien in the wheelchair.

"The Moxx of Balhoon," the Doctor greeted.

"My felicitations on this historical happenstance," the Moxx of Balhoon addressed us in a high, slightly gravelly voice. "I bring you the gift of bodily salivas," and he suddenly spat right in my eye. I slightly recoiled, but I was too shocked by the action to do anything else.

"Thank you very much," The Doctor couldn't suppress a giggle, and I wiped off my eye with my sleeve. The Moxx of Balhoon moved on, going to the next guest as I saw the Doctor was still laughing silently at me. I elbow him harder in the side. The fully cloaked figures came toward us, standing very still, almost like robots. "Ah, the Adherents of the Repeated Meme," the Doctor greeted. "I give you air from my lungs." And he let out a gust of air at them. One of the Adherents lifted up a clawed metal hand that held a silver orb out to us.

"A gift of peace, in all good faith," It said in a rough robotic voice. The Doctor took the orb and gave it a toss in the air before giving it to me, and the Adherents walked off without another word; the closeness of them made me shiver uncomfortably. Were they fully metal? Or did they have organic parts to them, like the T-101 from Terminator? I guess it didn't really matter as long as they didn't start killing everyone.

"And last but not least, our very special guest," the Steward announced, and the ballroom seemed to quiet down in anticipation. "Ladies and gentlemen and trees and multiforms, consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth… the last human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen."

The doors slid open to reveal what looked like a vertical, flesh-colored trampoline, stretched like silly putty in a metal structure that was wheeled in by two assistants dressed fully in white. At the bottom of the structure was a glass case that held a human brain. The only real way to tell that the piece of flesh was actually alive was that it had two eyes and bright red lips. _Oh my god…_

"Oh now, don't stare," the trampoline said in posh voice. "I know, I know! It's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away, and look at the difference! Look at how thin I am!" _Oh, thin doesn't even begin to cover it, lady._ "Thin and dainty! I don't look a day over two thousand! Moisturize me, moisturize me," she whispered to her assistants; one of them held up a canister and heavily misted her with something that strongly smelled of stale potpourri and chemicals. The Doctor stood beside me, looking truly excited about seeing the 'last human', but honestly the sight was horrifying. Is this what we'd be reduced to? "Truly, I am the last human. My father was a Texan. My mother was from the Arctic Desert. The were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in it's soil. I have come to honor them, and say… goodbye," her voice started cracking with emotion as her beady eyes started watering. "No tears, no tears." One of her assistants pulled out a handkerchief and gently dabbed under her eyes. "I'm sorry," She took a moment to compose herself before she continued. "But behold, I bring gifts! From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg!" one of the smaller blue aliens came forth holding a large off-white egg. That was actually really cool; I'd never seen an ostrich egg in real life. How did she get one five billion years in the future? "Legend says that it had a wingspan of fifty feet and blew fire from it's nostrils... or was that my third husband?" Cassandra added jokingly, chuckling at her own joke, although it didn't make me laugh, and apparently, no one else thought it was funny except the Doctor, who was laughing silently. I rolled my eyes at him. "Who knows? Oh, don't laugh, I'll get laughter lines!" Suddenly, the smaller blue aliens had wheeled in a multi-colored jukebox with blinking lights; the same kind of jukebox I'd see in the pub. "And here, another rarity," Cassandra announced while the other guests looked on with keen interest. "According to the archives, this was called an 'iPod'" _Wait, what?_ "It stores classical music from history's greatest composers."

I couldn't help myself when I chuckled; to be the last human, Cassandra is really hurting in Earth technology. I know it's five billion years into the future, but come on! Everyone knows what an iPod is.

"And now for my final gift," she said as a huge structure was wheeled into the ballroom, the sight of it making me gasp in amazement and adoration. "This is a classic Earth instrument, played at the most prestigious gatherings. These are called 'bongos', and are played with the hands to produce a deep and steady beat! Isn't it beautiful? Not as beautiful as me, of course…"

But I didn't focus on whatever she said after that; I could only gaze at her last gift with appreciation. The instrument wasn't bongos, but in fact a sapphire blue double bass TAMA drum set, surrounded by six cymbals and tom toms. I love the drums with a passion; I'd been playing the drums since I was twelve, but I'd never played live or with a band. I had a smaller set back home in Mr. McGuinness' shed. But I'd never seen one on such a grand scale before. Before I knew what I was doing, I shoved the plant and orb into the Doctor's hands and slowly inched forward, wanting to see this drum set even closer. The tom toms and cymbals were shined to a mirror shine, gently sparkling under the lights. The kit looked as though it had never been played by anyone before; there was no signs of blemish on the toms or the snare drum, which was positioned snugly behind the bass drums. There was even a stool and a pouch filled with drumsticks! This was truly a sight to behold. Slowly, I lifted my hand to gently glide my fingertips over the right bass drum, feeling a slight shiver go up my spine.

"Do you know how to play?" Cassandra's voice rang, pulling me out of my hypnosis of the drum set, and I noticed that everyone in the ballroom was looking right at me; my introvert side suddenly threatening to come out in full force.

"Uh…" I stammered, trying to pull myself together to come up with an answer. I shot a glance over at the Doctor, who was still standing to the side with his hands in his pockets, giving me an encouraging smile. "I… I dabble." I looked down at my hands and started picking at a nail, hating that I was put on the spot like that. _Well duh, you idiot, that's what you get for getting distracted by a drum set._

"Will you demonstrate?" She urged, and now my shyness was front and center.

"I, uh… I don't think so…"

"Yes, she will," the Doctor piped up, giving me a wink, and I wanted to strangle him.

"Play us a song, child," Cassandra urged, and to my utmost horror, the entire ballroom started murmuring in agreement. _Oh my God..._ "Play for us an ancient canticle of the dying Earth."

"I, uh..." I began to protest, but the murmuring amongst the crowd intensified and oh my god, they're clapping now! I want to crawl into a hole and die. I could run out of here, find some small dark place to hide, they'll never find me...

 _Get over yourself, Annie. Just play one damn song. The sooner you do it, the sooner it'll be over with._ With a deep breath, I straighten my back, trying to muster some courage. I glance over at the Doctor who was still smiling a toothy grin. I shoot him an evil glare. _He's a dead man._ I make my way around the kit and very cautiously sit down on the stool; there were so many parts and components to it! I felt like I was being enclosed, like a safe space almost. I began to gently tap the different tom toms and the snare drum to check if was tuned correctly; just like it's appearance, the sound was crisp and pristine. It was tight and didn't have an ear grating pop. As I reach into the pouch and take out two drumsticks, I contemplated on what I was going to play. Do I just do a improvised drum solo, or an actual song? Holy shit, which do I pick?

Fortunately I didn't have to decide because one of Cassandra's assistants pressed a button on the jukebox; and began to load a song. _Please don't let it be a country song._ When the song did come on, I let out a sigh of relief. 'Toxicity' by System of A Down. Good, I know that one. I play this song on my kit at home at least once a week. I close my eyes and take a moment to collect myself and let myself get into the song. I begin.

It's so automatic now, the way I dive into the song, it's like I'm really back in Mr. McGuinness' shed after school. Playing the drums was always a form of therapy for me; a chance to let myself be myself by myself. Music, in all it's forms, was beautiful to me, even the songs I didn't like. Music is half the beauty of the world.

 _Conversion software version 7.0_

 _Looking at life through the eyes of a tire hub_

 _Eating seeds as a pastime activity_

 _The toxicity of our city, of our city_

 _You, what do you own the world,_

 _How do you own disorder, disorder_

 _Now somewhere between the sacred silence_

 _Sacred silence and sleep_

 _Somewhere between the sacred silence and sleep_

 _Disorder, disorder, disorder_

The biggest reason why I love the drums so much was that it allowed me to shut my mind off. When I focus on the beats and the timing of the song that I'm playing, it doesn't leave room for anything else. Sometimes, when I overthink, I can get into very weird, low moods, especially at night, but having my music on blast and playing the drums as loud and as hard as I can will sometimes keep those demons at bay.

Sometimes.

 _You, what do you own the world_

 _How do you own disorder, disorder_

 _Now somewhere between the sacred silence and sleep_

 _Sacred silence and sleep_

 _Somewhere between the sacred silence and sleep_

 _Disorder, disorder, disorder_

When the song finally ends, with a quick three beats on the snare and a final note on the cymbals, I couldn't help but feel a little rejuvenated, even a little lighter. That is until there was suddenly a thunderous round of applause, making me remember that I was in a room full of different intergalactic species, and the introvert in me was having a seizure. The Doctor was clapping along with them, his goofy grin wide with surprise. Quickly I stood and gave a very meek wave before rushing to stand behind him, trying to make myself as small as possible.

"Why are you trying to hide for?" He asked over his shoulder. _Because I have a deep fear of being the center of attention and crippling social anxiety, that's why!_ The Doctor just chuckled and reached his arm over my shoulders to pull me beside him, holding on tighter when I tried to hide again. _Oh, I hate you so much right now._

"What a spectacular display!" Cassandra praised when the applause thankfully died down. "Oh, how the treasures of the Earth bring us closer together! Let us continue our celebration! Play on!" _Oh God, is she asking me to play again?_ But I let out a sigh of relief when her assistant pressed a button on the jukebox and Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" started playing. _Oh thank God, a synthesizer. Now they can't make me play again._ The Doctor started bopping his head to the music, looking so goofy with his signature smile that for a moment it made me forget my anxiety; it seemed that the Doctor could have fun anywhere he went.

"Refreshments will now be served," the Steward announced over the music. "Earth death in thirty minutes." _Thanks for the reminder, mate._ The guests started to mingle, creating a light buzz of chatter amongst themselves. It was actually rather interesting to see how different species interacted with each other; for the most part, it was really just another party, everyone making small talk with each other. I kept noticing, however, that on the other side of the room, the Face of Boe was staring at me with his big eyes. I tried my best to ignore it; the fact that a giant head in a fish tank would think I was interesting. Suddenly I was approached by two very tall aliens that looked like they were wearing large bonnets and had dark masks that looked like Darth Vader's helmets, and they started clicking and chattering and shaking my hand; their hands were larger than my head and were icy cold. I tried so hard not to flinch.

"A sublime performance!" One of them said in a very high, squeaky voice that didn't match their appearances at all. "So amazing to see an Earth treasure, and the sound it produced! Unlike anything we've ever heard! Tell me, how long did you have to study at University to master it?"

"W-we-well..." I stammered, completely taken aback. "Well I, uh..."

"Please tell us!" They insisted just as other aliens started congregating around me, all chattering and asking me ridiculous questions about what galaxy I had to travel to in order to earn my master of the 'bongos'. And the more they came closer, the worse my anxiety turned into full-blown claustrophobia. My vision started tunneling, and it was getting difficult to breathe.

"Oi, oi, oi!" The Doctor suddenly shooed them away from me; he probably saw just how close I was to having a breakdown. "Everyone, please! It's her first party! Let her have a good time." He put a hand on my shoulder, and I suddenly realized that I was shaking. _Oh, I think that ship already sailed, Doc._

"Excuse me," I stammered, and I high-tailed it out of the ballroom, wanting nothing more than to get out of there. I don't know where, but just somewhere so that I can be myself. I hate the fact that I'm a such a mess when it comes to being in public; I feel like I'm so awkward. Usually if Rose and/or Mickey are there, I can handle it better; I trust them and I can always use them as a safety net. But here... surrounded by alien species whose names I can't even remember... I'm alone. I know no one here. I don't even know the Doctor. I have no flipping clue who he is or where he's from or even what kind of alien he is. _Maybe I shouldn't have come here..._

I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts when I almost ran into someone, startling the ever-loving bloody shit out of me; the person I ran into was about my height with blue skin and dark designs on her face just like the Steward, but wearing an olive green jumpsuit and cap. Her yellow, cat-like eyes looked equally as surprised to see me.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" I quickly apologized. "I didn't look where I was going! I didn't frighten you, did I?" The alien girl didn't answer right away; she looked as though she was silently debating to herself. _Maybe she doesn't understand English..._

"You have to give us permission to talk," she finally answered after a moment. Really? Can't talk without permission?

"Um... you have permission."

"Thank you! And no, you didn't frighten me. Just surprised is all." The alien girl stepped towards the wall and started pressing a code into a keypad; I find myself suddenly keen to know more about her.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Raffalo," she answered.

"Raffalo?"

"Yes, miss. I won't be long, I've just got to carry out some maintenance." She knelt down to a hatch for a duct and began to remove it. "There's a tiny little glitch in the Face of Boe's suite. There must be something blocking the system; he's not getting any hot water."

"Oh, so... like a plumber?"

"That's right, miss." Raffalo removed the hatch and began peering into it; what she was looking for I couldn't say since I didn't know what a glitch in the year five billion was supposed to look like.

"Where are you from? If you don't mind me asking."

"Crespallion."

"And where is that, exactly?" I was really hoping that my barrage of questions wasn't bugging her, especially when it was in the middle of her trying to do her work. But she looked as though she was enjoying the conversation; I guess anyone would of they had to get permission to talk to someone.

Raffalo stood to face me. "Crespallion's part of the Jaggit Brocade, affiliated with the Scarlet Junction, Convex Fifty-Six." _Okay, still have no idea what that means, but I'm not gonna push it._ "And where are you from, miss? If you don't mind me asking."

"Of course I don't mind," I replied. "I'm actually from a long way away. I had some ancestors from the planet Earth. But just sort of came along with this man... he just brought me to this party... there's really nothing special about me!" I let out a nervous chuckle, feeling awkward. "Just passing through. Anyway, don't let me keep you! And thanks for the talk!"

"Thank you, miss!" Raffalo answered. "And thank you for the permission; not many people are that considerate."

"Any time." I said, and turned on my heel and kept going down the corridor, hoping to find the auditorium that the TARDIS was parked in; eventually I did find one, but with no TARDIS, but that didn't matter. As long as I could be by myself, I was fine. The screen at the far end was down, showing a magnificent view of the Earth and the Sun, but it was a sight that I couldn't enjoy. I sat down at the top row, feeling the stirrings of shame creep up on me. I hate this part of myself, that I can't even function like a normal human being without feeling like I'm some kind of dork. It's so aggravating being so uncomfortable with myself as a person that it makes me even wonder why I have the friends that I do.

Being here makes me miss Rose and Mickey like crazy, even though I've only technically left them an hour ago. I wish they would be here with me, to be able to see this with me, and be the people I can lean on; I bet Rose would get a huge kick out of seeing Cassandra. Suddenly, a thought came to me as I thought on Rose: why didn't the Doctor ask her to come along? She was there throughout the ordeal with the Nestene Consciousness, and she had helped; why didn't the Doctor ask her? Why'd he only pick me, this simpering mess? What in the world would make him think that he'd want to travel with me?

" _Would the owner of the blue box in private gallery 15 report to the steward's office immediately,"_ came a voice over the intercom. _"Guests are reminded that the use of teleportation devices is strictly prohibited under Peace Treaty 5.4/Cup/16. Thank you."_ I sniggered to myself; I wonder how the Doctor is going to explain that. And where the hell do they come up with these names? 5.5/Apple/26? 5.4/Cup/16? Is the way I tell the date and time back home extinct, too?

I pull my cell phone out of my pocket and opened it, but there was no signal. _Of course there's no signal, who was I gonna call five billion years in the future?_ But I was driven with a desire to call someone, just to talk to someone I know.

"Annie, you in there?" The Doctor's voice suddenly called out, making me almost jump out of my skin and I clutched my heart.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm here." I snap my phone shut as the doors opened and he sauntered in, smiling at me and sitting on the same row a few feet away.

"You alright?"

"Yeah!" I answered maybe a little too enthusiastically; I just hope he doesn't start to delve into it. "I'm fine. I'm not always the best guest at parties." I gave a breathless chuckle and kept looking down at my hands.

"Are you sure?" The Doctor asked me, "cause you seemed to be the life of it, especially behind that drum set. How long have you been playing them?"

"Since I was twelve. My music teacher at school taught me how to play the basics on them and read notes, but I started playing my favorite songs… I'd never really played in public before."

"Never?" he asked, sounding so surprised.

"No." It was silent between us for a moment before I realized something. "Do all aliens speak English?"

"No, you just hear English," said the Doctor, leaning back on his elbow to face me. "It's a gift of the TARDIS. It's a telepathic field, gets inside your brain, translates."

"It's inside my mind?" I squeaked.

"Well, in a good way," he replied, probably compelled by the look on my face. "She's not going to hurt you, Annie. Not unless you hurt her first."

"How do I know that, really?" I had to challenge. The Doctor's smile slowly dropped off his face. "I mean no offense Doctor, but I don't know a thing about you or what you do. I can't help but be a little wary."

"I travel and see the Universe. That's all I do, that's all I want to do." The Doctor sat up and started gazing at the Earth before us.

"Where you from?" I asked innocently.

"All over the place." That was a nice, evasive answer. "Where you from?" He asked me.

"All over the place," I answer, and the Doctor scoffed lightly, turning back to the Earth. I start picking at my nails again, hating myself for letting this conversation get awkward. I suddenly thought of primary school, and how the teachers would make us answer questions about ourselves on the first day of school, and it gave me an idea. A pretty lame idea, but an idea nonetheless. "Who's your favorite author?"

The Doctor kind of did a double take at my question, but he started smiling. "Shakespeare," he answered immediately.

"Really?" Out of everyone in time and space, that was surprising to me.

"Oh yeah. No one can use words like he can. Who's yours?" I had to take a moment to think about that; I've read so many books, there's so much to choose from.

"Probably Dante Alighieri," I replied after a moment. "Or Anne Rice."

"Anne Rice!?" The Doctor asked incredulously.

"Yes, her!" I defended. "That woman could write about paint drying, and I'd still read it."

"Because that's what her work is."

"Oi! Same could go for Shakespeare, too! He puts people to sleep!" The Doctor gasped dramatically, but I could see the corners of his mouth perk up.

"You take that back right now, Annie Wilkes," he said in a mock warning voice.

"I will not. Not until you take back what you said about Anne Rice."

"Never."

I cross my arms over my chest. "Fine, then." The Doctor started laughing heartily, and it was infectious. The two of us laughing together, like old friends, made me forget for a moment where I was, made me forget about my social anxiety and my awkwardness. Out of everything that has happened since I met him, this was the first time where I truly felt comfortable and... normal.

It was really nice.

The laughter finally died down between us, and he gave me an inquisitive look. "Why do you want to be a nurse, Annie?" He asked, and I just shrugged.

"I want to help people. One of the best people I knew was a nurse. I just want to be able to take care of people, I guess."

 _"Earth death in twenty minutes,"_ the intercom sounded. _"Earth death in twenty minutes."_

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder," I grumbled to myself. I rise to my feet and descend closer to the large window, taking a moment to again memorize the planet of my birth. I take my phone out again. "No signal in the year five billion, huh?" I say, holding the phone above me, still seeing a little red x in the corner of the screen. The Doctor bounded down beside me.

"Tell you what," he said, taking the phone out of my hand. "With a little jiggery pokery..." He took the back off and removed the battery, and reached into his jacket pocket and put in a small black object in the battery slot and replaced the back. The phone chimed, the screen illuminating; and I saw the reception fill up completely. The Doctor put the phone back into my hand with a smile. For some reason, I couldn't help but get a feeling of awe, like something had been cemented between us. I couldn't explain it. But I pulled up Rose's number, and with a thundering heart, called her. The phone rang three times before she answered.

"Hello?"

"Rose? Can you hear me?"

"Annie!" She screeched on the other end, making me pull it away from my ear. The Doctor chuckled beside me. "Oh thank God, I was worried sick! Are you alright? Is the Doctor still with you?"

"Yes, I'm fine, and yes he's here. We're just... at a party."

"A party? Blimey, you'd think he'd take you somewhere more exciting than that."

"Oh, you have no idea," I replied. "I'll have to tell you about it when I get home. I just wanted to check in, to let you know I was okay."

"Well, make sure he brings you back in one piece," Rose warned. "Are you sure you're okay, though?"

"Yeah, I'm fine! I'm on top of the world! I'll see you soon!" I answered with a smile before snapping the phone shut, feeling even lighter than ever now that I heard the voice of my friend.

"You think that's amazing, you ought to see the bill," The Doctor said with a smirk. I gripped the phone tighter in my hand, feeling a rush of emotion hit me in my chest. Even five billion years in the future, he made me feel just a little more connected to home.

"Thank you," I say, my voice slightly cracking as my eyes started blurring, but I will myself to be calm; I am not going to start crying in front of him. He just looked softly at me, his smile warm. Suddenly, the entire deck rumbled and started to shake, enough to make me stumble a bit. The Doctor stilled, his eyes inquisitive as he gave a sly smirk.

"That's not supposed to happen," he said.

 **I will admit, I had a rather rough time writing this one. It's one of those moments for me when I'm writing; I know exactly how I want this scene to play out, but it was difficult to actually type it out. I still feel unsure about the last scene, too. I can't tell you how many times I've went back and rewrote it, trying to make it different than just copying the episode. I hope it looks okay to you guys as well. Also, trying to come up with a song for Annie was hard, too. There were so many songs I'd contemplated using, but I ended up using SOAD; I love those guys. :)**

 **I wanted to make Annie a little different than some OCs I've read in the fact that not a lot have some sort of distinguishable talent or something unique that makes them stand out. For Annie, that is her being a drummer. I was inspired to do this by my dad; he's a fantastic drummer, going all the way back to the 80's when he was in the army. Anyone who knows my dad knows that he's a beast on a drum kit. \m/ Also, another big inspiration is one of my favorite YouTubers Meytal Cohen; she does drum covers on her channel and she is freaking amazing. Her expressions and the way she plays is how I envision Annie to look on the drum set.**

 **You can check out Meytal's cover of "Toxicity" here:** watch?v=MSeeD34aJK8

 **Aw, man! No reviews!? I got the biggest kick out of reading the last ones. Let me know what you think! Thanks to all who've followed this story, and if you have any questions or ideas, reach out to me. I love hearing from you guys! Thanks so much for reading! :)**


	4. The End of the World, Part 2

The Doctor and I rushed back to the main ballroom, still filled with the guests of the party, all of them looking as though they hadn't noticed the shaking and rumbling.

"That wasn't a gravity pocket," the Doctor said as he flashed the sonic screwdriver at a keypad next to the doors, making the screen flash with symbols that I couldn't understand. "I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that."

"What do you think it is?" I asked him quietly, watching him study the keypad; he could understand it perfectly, it seemed, as if he was reading English.

"I don't know," he murmured, and turned away from the keypad to look behind me. "What do you think, Jabe?" I turn on my heel to find the beautiful tree woman stepping towards us with a smile, her back straight and proper, like she had practiced the art of social gatherings all her life, which she probably did. "Listen to that engine, they're pitched up about thirty Hertz, is that dodgy or what?" Again, what he just said flew straight over my head, and it looked as though it did for her as well as she only shook her head at him.

"It's the sound of metal, it doesn't make any sense to me," Jabe replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Where's the engine room?" He asked her.

"I don't know. But the maintenance duct is just behind our guests' suite, I could show you, and... your wife?" She looked straight at me, and I could feel the heat rising in my face.

"Oh, we're not married," The Doctor and I said at the exact same time.

"Partner?" Jabe continued, interested.

"No," The Doctor answered.

"Concubine?"

"No."

"Prostitute?"

"Okay!" I said loudly, putting an end to Jabe's descent down the decency ladder and sending my already low self-esteem even lower. "Listen, you two go ahead, I think I'm gonna stay here for a bit and grab a drink," I said to the Doctor. "It is a party, after all."

"Don't start a fight," The Doctor warned as I started to walk toward a bar that had been set up toward the end of the ballroom. "I'm all yours," he said to Jabe, extending an arm to her, which she accepted. I playfully roll my eyes at the pair.

"Oi!" I call to the Doctor, "Curfew is at midnight, mister!" He shot me a wink over his shoulder as they walked out of the ballroom, and I let out a breath. The alien partygoers were scattered around the room, each of them in their own conversations, not paying attention to me, thank goodness. I continued to the bar, which already had a few rows of drinks set up, and I grabbed a crystal blue champagne flute that had a purple fizzing liquid that smelled really good, actually, like fruity candy. Rose certainly would've liked this.

" _Hello_ ," a soft, rumbled voice seemed to gently echo in my ears; I turn and almost jump as I saw the Face of Boe and his glass tank just a few feet away from me, his large eyes on me. I knew it had to be him; he seemed to give off an aura; a friendly aura, one that invites people in.

"Um… hello?" I began meekly, not really knowing how to approach this conversation; it's not every day I get to talk to a giant head in a tank.

" _Do not fear_ ," his voice sounded, the same gently echo like before, but his large lips didn't move. _"I only wish to offer my appreciation for your performance earlier. Your talent has definitely livened up the party._ "

"Thank you," I said. "It's nothing worth bragging about, I just play as a hobby."

" _Do not put yourself down_ ," the Face of Boe said, " _you should be proud of yourself. You are unique. You are you, and there is no one like you in the entire universe._ " His words startled me; although it was very nice to hear that about me, it was strange to hear it from someone you'd only met five minutes ago. His tank began to move forward, closer to the window that had a view of the sun and the Earth. I stepped closer as well, not wanting to be rude and leave the conversation in case we still had one. The Face of Boe gazed at the menacing sight, his face blank but his eyes growing creased and ancient.

" _The Earth, standing tall for billions of years, is finally in its last day_ ," he groaned. " _The sight makes me melancholy."_

"Have you been to the Earth before?" I asked politely.

" _It is the place of my birth. But the rest of my kind has died out millions of years ago, and I am the last_."

"I'm so sorry," I quietly replied, not sure what else to say to that.

" _All things must die in the end_ ," he answered. " _It is the way of nature. Nature will always have its way, in the end. Do not mourn the Earth, dear heart. Celebrate it. Mourn the planets who have perished before it's time."_ My eyes drifted back to my still full glass, not knowing what else to say to that. What did that last part mean? Does he know of any planets that may have died? Of a species that may have suffered an extinction before it's meant to? I'm suddenly reminded of just how big of a fish out of water I already am.

"Your Regal Faceness," an alien approached us, wearing black robes and whose skin had looked as though it was doused head to toe with metallic gold paint, "I must speak with you on a very important matter about the Moxx of Balhoon's Bad Wolf Scenario. Can I attain your audience?"

" _Please excuse me, dear heart_ ," The Face of Boe dismissed, and to be honest, I was glad. I was overwhelmed by the social interaction I was surrounded, and I took one more look at my drink before I chugged it and coughed; it was really tasty but holy shit that was so strong, I think I grew chest hair! I set the empty glass on the bar and I made my way out of the ballroom to find the toilet.

I didn't make it to the end of the hallway before I almost ran into the Adherents of the Repeated Meme, and before I could sputter an apology, the leader raised his clawed hand and struck me in the head, sending me into darkness.

1111

 _Baby can't you see?_

 _I'm calling_

 _A guy like you should wear a warning_

 _It's dangerous, I'm falling_

Who the hell is playing Britney Spears?

 _Too high,_

 _Can't come down_

 _Losing my head, spinning round and round_

 _Do you feel me now?_

My head feels like it's on fire, but my vision is slowly coming back to me and I find myself lying on my back, and I'm… back in an auditorium. Slowly, I sit up and gingerly feel the spot where I was struck; I can already feel a hot bump forming. What the hell was that about? Why did they do that to me?

 _I have to… I have to find the Doctor-_

Suddenly, the sound of something being unlocked rang in my ears, followed by a sinister alarm, and a voice over the intercom said " _Sunfilter descending_ ," A blinding ray of light bursts through the top of the window, scorching the wall and door. " _Sunfilter descending. Sunfilter descending_." I scramble to my feet and race to the door, my heart beating out of my chest as I try to pry it open, but just like the door at Henrik's, it's like it's glued shut, and the deadly rays of the sun are getting closer and closer.

"Help me!" I scream at the top of my lungs, beating the door, hoping someone would hear me. "Let me out! LET ME OUT!" I'm still trying to pry the door open in my frenzy, even though I see the sun rays start to fuse the doors together. "Someone please help me!"

"Hello? Is someone in there?" a high, female voice like bells said through the door. It was a voice I'd never heard before, and I don't care who it belongs to, just as long as she gets me out of here.

"Please help me!" I cried out to her. "The sunfilter is coming down! Let me out!"

There was a moment of silence from the other end before the female voice said "Hold on, give me just a moment! Get down on your knees and cover your head!" Immediately I obeyed, throwing the hood of my jacket and my arms over my head and wait with baited breath until-

" _Sunfilter rising_ ," the intercom said, and the sun ray started rising back up, leaving behind an angry, blackened scorch. Air whistled out of my lungs as I released my breath, so relieved that I wasn't going to be barbequed- " _Sunfilter descending_ ," _Oh no, not again!_ I began to pound the door again, hoping that the voice on the other end of the door hadn't left me.

"Oh great, just what we need," I hear her exasperated tone. "Keep calm and low, understand!?"

"Please get me out!" I scream as I watch the sun ray descend even lower, beating my fists bloody.

"I'm trying, stay calm! Go to the lowest part of the room and lie as flat as you can! Hurry!" she instructed, and I raced to the floor of the auditorium, trying to squish myself as low as possible.

" _Sunfilter descending. Sunfilter descending."_

Oh, will that thing please shut the hell up!? I could feel the tears streaming down my cheeks; this is not how I'd imagined myself dying. I want to go home. I want to see Rose and Mickey and Jackie again before I died. I want-

" _Sunfilter rising. Sunfilter rising."_

I let out an involuntary sob as the sun rays began to slowly ascend, and once it was completely extinguished, I shakily stand and sun back to the doors, which were now black and smoking. I placed my hands on the door to try to yank it open, but jerked my hands back when I was burned.

"Are you alright?" the high-pitched voice asked. "Answer me, come on!"

"I'm okay," I answered, my voice trembling.

"The lock's melted, I can't open the door! Remember, take deep steady breaths and be calm. I'll be right back, okay? Don't move an inch."

"Don't move an inch?" I replied sarcastically. "Where the hell am I gonna go, Chiswick!?" But the voice didn't answer me; she's probably already left me.

" _Earth death in five minutes. Earth death in five minutes."_

 _Thank God we've still got the bleeding entertainment!_ I thought bitterly. How long am I going to be stuck in here!? Surely I'm not going to be left behind! Oh God, the Doctor doesn't even know I'm here. I try again to budge the door, but in vain. It's still too hot for me to touch, and there's no other exit.

 _"Earth death in three minutes. Earth death in three minutes."_

With a deject I'd never felt before, I sink to my knees, and I reach into my pocket to pull out my cell phone. I dial Rose's number.

 _"Hi, this is Rose, sorry I can't make your call. Leave your name and number and I'll call you back. Thanks!"_ Her voicemail beeped, and I let out a shaky breath.

"Hey Rose, it's Annie," I answered. "I was hoping I could talk to you one more time. I, uh... I just wanted to tell you that I love you. You're one of the best people in the world. If you could, please tell Mickey and Jackie the same thing. Just tell them I love them." Suddenly, the entire ship shook and rumbled, and a blaring alarm with red lights blinking in the auditorium. "I've gotta go." I snapped the phone shut and backed up against the wall, curling myself in as much as possible.

 _"Safety systems failing. Safety systems failing."_ What the hell!? _"Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising."_ Where was that woman from earlier!? And where the hell is the Doctor? " _Earth death on two minutes. Earth death in two minutes. Heat levels critical. Heat levels critical."_ In an act that was really pitiful, I clamped my hands over my ears, like I used to do when I was younger when something was really loud, and I would try to block out the sound. But that move somehow made the noise louder, like it was intentionally forcing its way into my ears, no matter how hard I tried.

 _"Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising. Heat levels hazardous. Shields malfunctioning. Shields malfunctioning."_

To my absolute horror, I saw at the other end of the auditorium, the glass that showed the sun and Earth began to crack, letting in burning hot sun rays. One of them shot through the wall not even five feet from me to my right, and another one to my left right after, making me jump. When a sun ray hit right over my head, I screamed and put my arms over my head, not knowing what else to do. The smoke from the burning room started to fog around me, making me choke.

 _"Planet explodes in 10...9...8..."_ Oh God... it's happening... _"7...6...5..."_ Despite my blurred vision, due to both the smoke and my tears, I kept my eyes open, determined to watch the Earth, committing it to memory, to see it once more before it evaporated. It was so hard, almost torturous, but I needed to do it. I needed to see it before I died. _"4...3...2...1... Exoglass repairing. Exoglass repairing."_

What the hell? For a moment, I was distracted as I saw the cracks in the glass window fuse back together, almost like it hadn't cracked before. But then, I saw the outline of the Earth glow a deep, bright orange as the Sun gave off one final flare; the outer layer of the Earth seemed to ignite and crackle like the head of a match as it was scratched, and then, quicker than a blink of an eye, the Earth was gone, splintering with a deafening boom, and all that was left of my home planet was the debris; rocks and boulders floating past like glitter in a snow globe. It was honestly the most beautiful and most horrifying thing I've ever witnessed. And I'm here in this auditorium, groveling against the wall by myself, trying to comprehend what I'd just seen, and reeling over the fact that I'm not going to die after all.

1111

I don't know just how long I was stuck in that auditorium, but I was finally rescued after what seemed like an eternity by a crew of blue-skinned maintenance workers who had to melt the fused locks open, and when the doors were opened, I saw to my absolute relief the Doctor stride in, his face hard and steely, but he smiled in relief when he saw me. I probably looked so pitiful to him. I couldn't help but hug him; just to allow myself to feel so happy that the both of us were okay. I was surprised when he hugged me back. Neither of us said anything, but when he released me he took ahold of my hand in a strong grip and lead me out of the auditorium, down through the corridor and into the ballroom, where I saw that the other aliens were aiding each other; they looked worse for wear, their robes scorched and some nursing burns. Part of the ballroom looked scorched and melted, and my heart sank when I saw the drum set completely burned and destroyed. I saw at a far end the wheelchair for the Moxx of Balhoon was completely black and there was an ash pile in the seat. To my relief, I saw the Face of Boe's giant tank and found him still alive.

But who caused all of this? Who in the world would want to kill everyone here, and why?

Before I could ask, the Doctor let go of my hand and strode over to Jabe's two male counterparts and whispered something to them, and my chest grew heavy when I saw their crestfallen faces as they started to sob quietly. The Doctor made his way back to me and started to pace back and forth, his stance growing more rigid and his face growing darker and steely by the second. I was almost afraid to say anything, but I asked "Are you okay?" in a meek whisper.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered in a growl. "I'm full of ideas, I'm bristling with them. Idea number one, teleportation through five thousand degrees needs some kind of feed. Idea number two, this feed must be hidden nearby." He strode over to where the ostrich egg was, grabbed it and slammed it, shattering it and revealing a small silver device. "Idea number three, if you're as clever as me, then a teleportation feed can be reversed." The Doctor twisted the device, making a spot in the ballroom warp and turn silver, and my eyes widened when I saw the form of Cassandra take shape.

"Ah, you should've seen their little alien faces..." She spoke as though she was talking to someone else like she was gloating, but trailed off when she saw that she was back in the ballroom, and her beady eyes widened when she saw the Doctor. "Oh..."

"The Last Human," the Doctor spat scathingly, and he seemed to be visibly shaking.

"So, you passed my little test, bravo," Cassandra muttered, growing increasingly flustered by the second. "That makes you eligible to join the er.. The human club!"

"People have died, Cassandra. You murdered them," he continued.

"That depends on your definition of people, and that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries," said Cassandra haughtily, like she didn't even care. "Take me to court then, Doctor! And watch me smile and cry and flutter..."

"And creak?" The Doctor interjected.

"...and what?"

"Creak! You're creaking." Sure enough, Cassandra's skin tightened and began to shrivel and her skin started to lighten.

"What? Ah... ah... I'm drying out!" She cried. "Oh, sweet heavens! Moisturize me! Moisturize me!" But she continued to shrink, looking more like a dried piece of fruit. "Where are my surgeons!? My lovely boys, it's... too... hot..."

"You raised the temperature," the Doctor said casually, not moving an inch to do anything about it.

"Have pity!" Cassandra begged now, her eyes turning more bloodshot as she dried. "MOISTURIZE ME!"

I stepped closer to the Doctor, the top of my head a few inches short of his shoulder. "Help her," I said, hoping that he's at least do something; maybe he should wait for some kind of authority to arrest her or something.

But the Doctor didn't make a move; he didn't even turn to look at me. "Everything has its time and everything dies," he said to me with finality, and I had no choice but to watch as she continued to shrink and cry out.

"I'm... too... young...!" She groaned as she shrank and shrank until suddenly her skin tore apart and flew everywhere; one piece flew right past my head. But the Doctor still stood there, looking completely unbothered at what just happened, and startled me by suddenly turning and striding out of the ballroom, leaving me standing in the crowd of frightened aliens.

1111

 _"Shuttles 4 and 6 departing. This unit now closing down for maintenance."_

I stayed in the ballroom, watching as all of the partygoers quietly filed out so that they would be transported out for medical attention. I bid farewell to the Face of Boe, who sounded immensely relieved that I was okay, as I was for him. He was very kind, and he promised me that we would meet again, which I was excited to hear. I do hope to see him again, hopefully when we're not about to die.

But now I stood alone, the quiet rumble of the observation deck now welcomed after the chaotic alarms, and I gazed out the glass wall, my eyes transfixed at the spot where the Earth once stood; now there was only the sight of the sun, and the small remnants of rocks that remained. I heard heavy footsteps come closer and stand beside me, but I made no move to turn because I knew who it was.

"The end of the Earth," I croaked to the Doctor, the grim reality of what I'd just experienced hitting me like a prizefighter's punch to the face. "I watched it, just as I thought I was going to die. I saw the Earth just... disappear. Now it's dead, but I'm still alive. I'm still here, but my home is gone." Suddenly, a despair I'd never felt before began to drown me, and a sense of utter loss made the flow of tears come down my face. "My planet is gone..." I muttered, the words making it seem more real. "My home is _gone..._ " Just when I thought I was going to suffocate from my loss, the Doctor held out his hand to me.

"Come with me," he said in a soft, sweet whisper, and I took it, letting him lead me out of the ballroom and back into the auditorium where the TARDIS stood, and I watched him as he handled the controls, the ship surprisingly smooth this time, and when it stilled, he only motioned to the doors. Reluctantly, I walked to the doors and slowly opened them and couldn't control the gasp that escaped my throat as I saw London, just like I'd left it. Everyone walking past, people going to work, mothers walking with their children, even vendors selling newspapers. I took a moment to let the noise pervade my brain, to allow it to calm me. The Doctor came to stand beside me, his hands in his jacket pockets as he too watched the people of London go about their business.

"You think it'll last forever," the Doctor said suddenly. "People and cars and concrete… but it won't. One day it's all gone. Even the sky. " I lifted my eyes to the gray, cloudy sky, taking a moment to let it sink in. "My planet's gone," the Doctor said after a moment, and his admission startled me. I turn my gaze toward him and I could see his eyes grow so sad and old, almost like he aged one hundred years in a second. "It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust. Before it's time." My eyes widened at his admission, and the sorrow that I'd felt earlier began to come back to me, but this time for him. How in the world could he carry something like this and then go to a party celebrating the death of a planet!?

"What happened?" I asked in a small whisper, my voice slightly cracking.

"There was a war and we lost," he answered. "Everyone lost."

"What happened to your people? What about your family?" For a moment, I thought I could see his eyes start to glass when I mentioned his family, and I started to internally panic in case he started crying; I would really hate myself if he started crying.

But he seemed in control of himself; no tears falling at all. He looked at me with his ancient, deep blue eyes and said, "I'm a Time Lord." For a second, I was brought back to the Nestene Consciousness and how it must've already known who the Doctor was. "I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travelling on my own cause there's no one else." The weight of his loneliness was suddenly so heavy and so tangible that it made me ache. To have to carry that by himself... there were no words to describe it, and it took ahold of me.

"There's me," I offered, but I couldn't help but feel kind of stupid for saying that; I'm not really a good substitute for a lost species, am I? "I know that doesn't help anything, but..." The Doctor just looked at me for a moment, his face unreadable to me.

"You've seen how dangerous this is," he said. "Do you want to go home?"

Did I want to go home? Did I want to go back to my life and my friends? I kept thinking back to just a few hours ago, when I was hating myself for being so socially weird and then when I was struggling for my life when the sunfilter was coming down... and then back to that voice, the voice I'd never heard before, who had saved me. After all that, I wished that I was much more stronger, so much braver, but I looked into his big blue eyes and I knew that I couldn't leave him now. Even though I'd only known him for several hours, the thought of him suddenly disappearing and never coming back was terrifying.

"No," I finally answered; his eyes widened slightly in surprise at my answer. "I don't want to go home just yet. I want... I want to..." Before I could finish my sentence, I suddenly got a whiff of fresh brewed coffee, and I sighed. "Do you smell coffee?" I asked. The Doctor started chuckling, his face lighting up and the heavy, sullen mood dissipated.

"Yeah," he said with a wide smile. "Yeah!"

"I don't know about you, but I could do with a coffee right about now."

"Me too!"

"Well alright then, spaceman, let's go."

1111

"So what about your folks? I hope your mum wasn't too upset over her coffee table," The Doctor asked me as I drained the remains of my second cup of coffee; we were sitting at a table outside a café in the city, the two of us spending the better part of an hour asking questions about each other. He's told me about how Cassandra had sabotaged the observation deck so that she could get a big payout from the tragedy. He tells me of the places he's seen in his travels and the people he's met, and all the while I'm keeping a mental list in my head of the places that I want to see.

But his question made me stop, and I kept my eyes on my cup, trying my best not to let myself get into a depressing mood.

"I live alone," I responded quietly. "But Mrs. McGuiness would've been more worried about the killer arm than her coffee table."

"Mrs. McGuiness?"

"She was my foster mother since I was eight. She and Mr. McGuiness raised me. They bought my drum set for me." I began picking at my nails again, remembering those two wonderful people, those two who were, for all intents and purposes, my parents.

"You live alone in their house?"

I nodded. "Mrs. McGuiness passed away from cancer 3 years ago. Mr. McGuiness passed last year from a heart attack. Since then I've been by myself in the house while I go to school."

The Doctor was silent for a moment before he whispered "I'm sorry."

"I appreciate it, but it's not necessary. They were both well into their eighties, and they always lived life to the fullest every day." I slowly twisted the ceramic cup in my hands as I thought about them, my chest getting a little heavier and heavier. "I wish I was more like them sometimes..." I mumbled, mostly to myself.

"Well, what's stopping you?" The Doctor asked, his eyebrows furrowed questioningly at me and I could only shake my head at him.

"Doc, did you not see me back on the observation deck?" I deadpanned pitifully. "I can't even be in a room full of people without being at risk for a full-blown panic attack. How is anyone supposed to live life to the fullest like that?"

"But you were able to do that somehow, weren't you?" The Doctor challenged me with a smile. "Even though you wanted to hide, you still got up there and played on a drum set. Not many people have the courage to get up and speak in front of a crowd, let alone play an instrument. I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Annie. Why do you feel such anxiety all the time?"

 _Oh Doc, if only you knew..._

"If I told you all the things that are wrong with me, we'd be here all day," I replied lightly, hoping he wouldn't ask any more. I don't want to scare him off with all the details of my pathetic life. "My friends help me a lot. Rose and Mickey always have me out with them at parties and stuff, even when I usually don't. But even with them, sometimes... it's just too much, being around so many people at once." I let out a long sigh. "I'm just a chicken, that's all. It's just something I'll have to get over."

"I'll help you," The Doctor volunteered. "There's so many people to meet, so many places to see, and all the time in the world. All you need is a push in the right direction, and I'll do all I can to help you to get more confidence in yourself; cause that's all you really need, Annie. Everyone's a chicken," he cracked a smile towards me, "but only those who really want to gets to cross the road." I chuckle at his small parable, and the Doctor's face scrunched up in distaste. "That wasn't one of my best ones..."

"Thank you though, Doctor," I said appreciatively, feeling like maybe he really can help me from becoming a total freak of nature. For the first time in what seems a long time, I feel positive about what my future held for me, and I was eager to get started. "So where you taking me now?" I lightly teased, going warmer when I saw his smirk. "I hope you've got something cool planned." The Doctor just gazed at me for a moment with a look like he was silently debating something when his smirk turned into a wicked grin.

"You know what, I do, Annie Wilkes," he answered after a moment; he suddenly rose from the table and took hold of my hand. "You're gonna love this."

 **Holy cow! Another one down! I do not mean to be late with this one, so much has been going on these past two months, and the time to actually sit down and write this has been scarce. I'm almost done with school, though! *claps excitedly* I'm about to start my 4** **th** **week of an internship at a lab in one of the biggest clinics in my state, and I am so ready for it to be over. Having to do that for eight hours plus go to my regular job as a cashier at nights really gets old REALLY fast. Just two more weeks to go, two more weeks to go...**

 **In other news...**

 **Guys... I am legitimately upset over the recent DW news about Peter Capaldi leaving after this year's Christmas special. I was not ready for it; I was really hoping he'd break that 3 year bracket the recent Doctors seem to have. If I had to pick a Doctor who I'd call MY Doctor, it would be Capaldi. He was really a breath of fresh air for the series (I believe), and his delivery of the Doctor has been nothing short of brilliant. I am going to be a freaking mess this December. But here's an interesting question: who should be the next Doctor? Personally I'm still in mourning, so I'm going to avoid the question for now, but who do you guys think? Let me know in the reviews!**

 **Just wanna give a quick shoutout to these awesome people: Flamand Vert, Izuminka1992, Permanently Lost In Thought, 14, crossMIRAGE19, lostiesgirl, and Jessxmn, thank you guys so much for the favorites and follows. Seeing these alerts in my email really makes my day.**

 **Now to wrap this up, I do know that there's some things in this chapter that don't quite make sense yet, but there's a method to the madness. I will be coming back to this episode much later on, when we get to the real story of Annie Wilkes. I'm so excited to tell it.**

 **Thank you guys for reading! If you liked it or if you have any ideas or questions, give me a review! Let me know what you think. Next up we have the Gelth and Charles Dickens! And hopefully we'll get the Doctor to change more than his jumper...**

 **Thanks again for reading! :)**


	5. The Unquiet Dead, Part 1

The TARDIS jerked forward violently, slinging me around like a rag doll as the Doctor worked feverishly over the controls. I've got one of my hands on a button that he's told me to hold down while I'm using the other hand to hold on for dear life.

"Hold that one down!" He ordered, pointing to another knob on my left.

"I AM holding this one down!"

"Well, hold them both down!"

With a grunt, I reach and grab the knob he was pointing to just as the box lurched again. "Are you sure this is gonna work?" I asked the Doctor apprehensively.

"Oi! I promised you a time machine and that's what you're getting!" The Doctor replied over the noise. "Now you've seen the future, let's have a look at the past! 1860, how does 1860 sound?"

"Why, what happens in 1860?"

"I don't know, let's find out! Hold on, here we go!" The Doctor lowered a lever and the TARDIS shook even worse, knocking me even harder against the console. I could see him move around the controls, pressing more buttons until he came to my right side and pulled up another lever and the TARDIS gave one more lurch forward before sending us both down on our backs onto the grille floor before it finally stilled and silenced. The Doctor let out a hearty laugh and I couldn't help but join him once I got the air back into my lungs; the whole ride felt like I was on a roller coaster!

"Bloody hell!" I groaned as we both sat up; the Doctor jumped to his feet, a never-ending force of energy, looking like a kid in a toy store.

"You're telling me, you alright?" He asked as he started gazing intently at the monitor; with a groan, I rise to my feet.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay," I answer, stretching my back. "Did you make it?"

"I did it!" The Doctor cheered, "Give the man a medal! Earth, Naples, December 24th, 1860." He looked so smug with his arms crossed over his chest and his wide smile, but I could only look at the monitor in wonder, even though it had these strange designs flashing before me, like circles overlapping each other. The Doctor seemed to understand them perfectly.

"You brought me to Christmas?" I asked.

The Doctor simply motioned towards the doors. "All yours," he answered. I let out a breath, my mind suddenly bringing me back to the previous Christmas, the first one I spent without both of my foster parents. That one was a bad one for me: I found myself spending Christmas without the pillars of the only stable family structure I've ever been a part of, and the house seemed so empty and dark, even with the effort of putting Mrs. McGuiness' decorations up around her house. Everything felt dark, depressing, and flat. Of course, Jackie had insisted I come by her flat on Christmas Day for dinner and presents, and while I was so grateful for her never-ending kindness she has for me, it still didn't feel the same. It still didn't feel like home.

But spending a Christmas in the past? How could I not be excited about that? To see a Christmas way before my time and actually be a part of it?

"You alright?" The Doctor asked softly; I must've zoned out on him, thinking about that lonely Christmas.

"Yeah, I was just thinking," I explained softly, shaking off that bad memory. "Christmas has always been a mixed experience for me. Of course, I've had really good Christmases, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't trade them. But how many Christmases have you seen, Doctor? Going back to see the days that have long since passed and the days yet to come… no wonder you can't stay still for long."

"Not a bad life," he responded with a soft smile to his face.

"No, not a bad life at all," I answered with a smile of my own. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Oi oi oi, where do you think you're going?" The Doctor stopped me when I turned and made it halfway to the door.

"Uh, 1860? You know, where all the action is...?" I pointed my thumb over my shoulder.

"Go out there dressed like that? You'll start a riot, Barbarella!" I look down at myself, in my t-shirt, jeans, and jacket; surely no one's really going to pay attention to that, right? "There's a wardrobe through there," he motioned toward the hallway.

"Oh no," I groaned at what he was implying. "Do I have to wear those dumb looking dresses?"

"Yes, you do," The Doctor replied in an exasperated tone, like he was having an argument with a whiny pre-teen. "Go to the wardrobe, first left, second right, third door on the left, so straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on your left. Hurry up!" He delivered the directions at lightning speed, making my head spin trying to keep up with his instructions.

"Yeah, like I'm gonna remember that," I grumbled but obeyed, making my way past the console but teasingly I stuck my tongue out at him and was welcomed with a chuckle when I went through the corridor.

I found the wardrobe quicker than I thought, almost like I was being led there, and when I actually found the wardrobe itself, I had to crane my head almost all the way back at the sheer size of the room. It seemed almost endless: the walls were lined with different costumes and clothes of different sizes and colors and they seemed to be organized by time period and the walls were shot upwards, lined with outfits. At the center of the room was a gigantic spiral staircase, marked off by floors so that one can reach the particular outfit they wanted; the staircase seemed to stretch upwards forever. I honestly couldn't even see the ceiling. _Where the bloody hell is one supposed to start!?_

That thought didn't even finish in my brain before the lights in the wardrobe began to dim, and spotlights had flickered on to the tenth level of the staircase. I hurried my way up, glancing at each of the floors on my way, catching snippets of extravagant ball gowns, tuxedos, western costumes with leather chaps, even flapper girl dresses from the 20's. I made a mental note to ask the Doctor where he gets all this stuff. When I reach the tenth level, I find even more choices of clothing on my left, plus a full-size mirror and a changing room, and there was even a rack full of shoes. For a few moments, I trace my fingertips over the different pieces, looking closer at them. I couldn't help but pull one off the rack: it was a man's two-piece suit, brown with blue pinstripes, and a rather small waist; am an would have to be the size of a twig to wear this. I suddenly had a mental picture of the Doctor wearing this suit that made me giggle; he was rather stocky for his height, he'd rip through this thing like the Incredible Hulk from outer space! Still giggling, I put the suit back on the rack.

I can't really tell how long I was in there, trying to find an outfit that could pass for 1860, but after what seemed like hours, I finally found a deep blue gown with embroidered blue roses and vines and a black fur lined jacket to keep warm, and a pair of black leather heeled boots. I twisted my hair into a simple bun, my curls framing my face. I don't mind dresses; I have a few at home that I wear regularly, but I'm not enjoying this. This dress was heavy and too long; I feel like I have to kick my legs up over my head just so I could walk. But this is 1860; I have to begrudgingly admit that if I have to see history, I have to look the part. During a quick search around the level, I also found a pair of onyx drop earrings, a thick black wool scarf, and leather fur lined gloves. I give myself a last glance into the full-length mirror, making sure nothing is out of place before I descend the staircase, grabbing the front of my dress to lift it off the ground so that I could walk without killing myself. When I returned to the console room, I found the Doctor under the grille floor, fiddling with something right under the console with his sonic screwdriver. He didn't notice me immediately, being so immersed in whatever it was he was doing, and he finally glanced my way before doing a double take, his eyes widening like he'd never seen me before.

"Blimey!" he cried out.

"Don't you start laughing at me," I groan; I'm not going through this trouble of dressing up for him to start teasing me.

"You look beautiful!"

That made me stop, and heat started to rise in my face; that was the first time anyone had told me I was beautiful, ever. I've been told that I was cute, sometimes even dared to be called 'pretty'. But never 'beautiful'. I didn't really know what to say to him after that, but the Doctor seemed to realize what he'd said because he quickly looked away said, "Considering."

"Considering what?"

"That you're human."

"Er, thanks... I think?" I muttered, still reeling from his previous comment. Looking down at him, I noticed that he was still wearing his usual garb. "Hey, aren't you gonna change?"

"I changed my jumper!"

"Oh, come on! If I have to parade around in this damn thing, then you've gotta dress up, too."

"Never gonna happen," the Doctor challenged with a deviant smirk, putting his screwdriver in his breast pocket.

"What!?"

"Come on," he urged, placing his hands onto the grille to lift himself up, but I raced past him towards the doors.

"Ooo, I want to do this one! Don't move an inch!" Gently I push open the door, and the first thing that I see... is snow. A thick blanket of snow covering an empty street, followed by a gush of icy wind brushing my face. I take a step, letting my boot imprint on the fresh snow and feeling a rush of delight from the familiar crunch beneath my foot. I step further out into the street, my eyes hungrily taking in the sight around me. It was nighttime, and the snow seemed to sparkle like diamonds under the street lamps. Just like Platform One, I didn't really feel different or obviously out of place. I took my scarf and wrapped it around my head and neck like a hood to protect myself against the bitter wind.

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, closing the door behind him and he stepped beside me. "You ready for this?" He asked with a smile, and I nodded. He offered me his arm like a total gentleman, and I accepted. "Here we go. History!" And we set off down the street, coming closer to the sounds of Christmas carolers and the rumble of carriages, and when we reached the end of the street, we found ourselves right in the middle of a very busy square. It was all so surreal; it was like I was walking in a period novel! So many different people, all walking and minding their own business, not realizing that two time-travelers were walking among them. The Christmas spirit seemed to spread through them like an infection; men were chortling heartily, women were buzzing and the children were screaming with delight, chasing each other in the street and weaving past the carriages. And I was enjoying this so much, but I couldn't help but have a weird feeling in the back of my brain that was telling me that this didn't feel like Naples. Now I don't claim to be an expert in geography; I've never been to Italy a day in my life, but there was a strange feeling, a feeling of... familiarity?

The Doctor approached a newspaper vendor and purchased one, and after five seconds of scanning the front page his face fell and he cringed slightly, as though he was a boy about to be scolded by his mother.

"I got the flight a bit wrong," he said.

"Okay," I replied, taking in the sights and trying so hard to figure out why this place felt so familiar.

"It's not 1860, it's 1869."

"Okay."

"And it's not Naples."

"Okay." Slowly but surely the realization started to come to me, that small feeling of déjà-vu growing bigger and bigger... if I didn't know any better, I'd say this place was...

"It's Cardiff."

"Of course!" I cried at his confirmation; this was Cardiff! I'd been here a couple of times with Mr. and Mrs. McGuinness; she was originally from Cardiff and had a large family that lived here and we'd visit a couple times a year. That was in the future, of course, but I was struck by how little Cardiff had really changed despite the advancements in technology.

"You know Cardiff?" The Doctor inquired.

"Yeah, we're acquainted," I remarked cheekily. "She's nice and all, but doesn't hold a conversation very well." The Doctor playfully rolled his eyes at me and was about to reply when suddenly a high-pitched, terrified scream pierced the air, coming from a nearby theatre.

"That's more like it!" The Doctor exclaimed excitedly, tossing his newspaper in the air and running toward the theatre and with a sigh I followed, trying to keep up with him despite running in this stupid dress, having to hold up the front; we were dodging the patrons of the theatre now as they hurried past us, still screaming in terror. However, a new scream broke out, but it wasn't just any scream; a high, ethereal wail of despair echoed above us. I kept close to the Doctor as we found the theatre where the commotion was coming from, and the sight made me gasp.

"What the hell!?"

Zooming high above us was a blue apparition, thin like wisps of smoke but emitting a bright glow that left a trail in its wake, and it was coming from an old woman, standing in the center of the seats, the blue glow coming out of her mouth, as though she was being possessed by it. Was it a ghost? An alien?

"Fantastic!" The Doctor exclaimed in awe, darting towards the stage where a man in a suit was standing; I paid no mind as I watched the old woman finally collapse and slump forward but was grabbed by a suspicious older man and young woman, dragging the lady out of the aisles.

"Hey! HEY!" I shouted, roughly pushing my way through the panicking crowd as I began to follow them. The older man slung the old woman over his shoulder as he and his accomplice hurried away. I sprinted after them, chasing them all the way out of the theatre and found their carriage on the other side of the street just as the young woman was shoving the old lady in the back. "OI!" I shouted, startling her; the young woman positioned herself in front of the old woman. "What the hell are you doing to her?"

"Oh, it's a tragedy, miss!" She answered in a quivering voice. "Don't worry yourself, me and my master will deal with this. Fact is, this lady has been taken with a brain fever! We have to get her to the infirmary!"

Losing my patience, I shove the woman out of the way. "Good thing I'm a nurse, then!" However, when I really saw the old woman lying in the carriage, I saw that her skin was gray and waxy and ice cold. With two fingers on her neck, right on top of the carotid artery, there was no pulse. This woman had to have been dead at least twenty-four hours. "What did you do to her!?" I demanded, but suddenly the older man had grabbed me from behind, shoving a wet handkerchief over my nose and mouth with a sickly-sweet smell that made me gag. Remembering my self-defense class, I wrenched back the man's pinky finger trying to break it; he cried out in pain in my ear but held the handkerchief tighter to my face as the chemical began its effect, making my vision wobble until I lost consciousness.

1111

It took a moment for my vision to stop spinning once I regained consciousness; my mouth was dry like sandpaper and when I shakily sat up, blood started coming out of my nose. I wiped it with my scarf. I found myself in a rather large room, lying on top of a table, but I noticed that the room was lined with open coffins. _Oh god, are they going to bury me alive!?_ Then suddenly from behind me, a ghastly moan sent chills down my spine, and I whipped around to see the _corpse_ of a young man rise from a coffin on my left, followed by the old woman from the theatre on my right, both looking at me with dead, unfeeling eyes.

"Holy shit!" I scramble off the table, my dress making me fall to the floor as the corpses began to exit the coffins, slowly coming towards me as I frantically backed away. I'm suddenly reminded of every zombie movie I've ever watched, and I know that if I don't think of something fast, I'm going to have my guts ripped out of me and eaten.

I back up all the way to the door and I can't open it! The door handle was locked! I pound on the door frantically. "Help me!" I scream as loud as I can, hoping to God someone would find me. "HELP ME! Someone please help me! LET ME OUT!" Where the bloody hell is the Doctor!? Does he even know where I am!? The corpses came closer, the bright blue smoke coming out of their mouths and surrounding them. I beat my fists even harder. "PLEASE LET ME OUT!" The male zombie made a grab for me but I kicked it in the abdomen as hard as I could, making him stagger back but the old woman tried to claw my face. Then, the door behind me flew open with a crash and I saw the Doctor, his chest heaving as he kicked the door open.

"I think this is my dance," he remarked casually and grabbed my hand, yanking me back and secured his arm around my waist, practically holding me upright as I slumped in relief, my body shaking. If he hadn't got here in time, I'd have certainly been lunchmeat.

"This is a prank, it must be," an unfamiliar voice said behind me; an older gentleman with dark curly hair and beard looked on at the scene, his eyes wide and disturbed, sounding as though he was trying to convince himself. Behind him were both of my kidnappers. "We're under some mesmeric influence."

"No, the dead are walking," The Doctor answered him without missing a beat. He looked down at me with a big grin. "Hi," he greeted, and I could only nod back, my voice failing me. "My name's The Doctor," he addressed the zombies. "Who are you, then? What do you want?"

" _Failing_ ," they gasped, their eerie voices echoing around the room, other voice overlapping each other. " _Open the rift, we're dying! Trapped in this form, cannot sustain! Help us!"_ They suddenly released a wail so distraught and so loud and terrifying that I clamped my hands over my ears. The bright blue smoke came out of their mouths and circled the room, sending the wail everywhere until it died out, and the zombies dropped to the floor, finally ceasing.

"Dear Lord Almighty," the gentleman whispered, but the Doctor didn't pay him any mind, instead turning to me.

"You alright?" He asked, and I nodded since my throat was still so dry. He took my scarf and pressed it against my nose to stem the bleeding and kept his arm around my shoulders as he slowly took me out of the room and up the hall, past the three that were watching us, and into a den that was brightly lit with gas lamps. It was pretty warm in this room. The Doctor sat me down on a nearby chair and knelt in front of me, lowering the scarf from my nose and looking to see if it was still bleeding.

"I'm alright, Doctor," I whisper, my throat still burning and croaky. My kidnappers and the older gentleman stepped into the room, arguing.

"Can someone get a wet cloth and a glass of water?" The Doctor demanded, and the woman obeyed immediately, skittering into the hall; the older gentleman came and sat in the chair opposite me.

"Are you alright, dear girl?" He gently asked me when the woman came back in with a damp strip of linen and a goblet and handed it to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," I said as I cleaned off my face; red streaks of dried blood striped the once pristine cloth. "Who's your friend?" I asked the Doctor, taking a gulp of ice water; it soothed my raw throat immensely.

The Doctor's face lit up like the sun and he announced with a smile, "Charles Dickens."

My eyes widened. "Really?" The older man smiled and nodded. I've never been in the presence of a famous author before, and I had to admit, it was kind of fascinating. Does this man have any idea just how much of an impact his works have made over time, that people will continue to read his books over one hundred years after he is long gone? "It's so nice to meet you." I say to him.

"Likewise," said Charles.

I lean in close to the Doctor and whisper "Charles Dickens with ghosts at Christmas?" The Doctor smiled cheekily, his eyes shining at the excitement of it all, and only gave a small nod. Strangely, it made me want to laugh; it seemed so absurd that this was happening now in real life, that Charles Dickens could really be a part of this. The young woman came back in carrying a stocked tea tray and set it on a nearby table.

"Mr. Sneed, I've put a lock on the coffin room door," she said to the old man timidly as she gingerly began preparing tea.

"Thank you, I've had enough trouble for one night," he said in a self-pitying voice, and there was something about his response that burned me. He goes around snatching up zombies and kidnaps me and then wants to complain about how this was causing _him_ trouble!?

I don't really know what came over me, I really don't; but I rose from my seat and landed my fist right onto Mr. Sneed's nose. The man cried out and staggered back, falling to his knees as he brought his hands to his face. I was about to go in for another punch, but the Doctor wrapped his large arms around me and restrained me, and I tried to wiggle out of his grasp but to no avail.

"The girl's gone mad!" Charles cried.

"Let me go, Doctor!" I growled, still trying to wiggle out of his tight grip.

"Annie, stop! He's not going to hurt you, you're safe! Annie, stop!" Slowly but surely, my flailing ceased, but I was still so angry as I watched the young maid help Mr. Sneed into a chair. The Doctor loosened his grip around me but kept his hands on my arms, probably to keep me from attacking again.

"I'm alright, Doctor," I breathed, fully shrugging out of his grasp; he looked at me for a moment, contemplating on whether to believe me or not, but with a sigh he stepped back and leaned against the fireplace, his blue eyes not leaving me. I'm not going to attack this Sneed again, but he is going to give me some answers whether he likes it or not. The man cowered in his seat when I took a step forward.

"You've got ten seconds to start talking," I declare, my voice cold. "Or you're gonna have a nice black eye to go with that bloody nose."

"I won't be spoken to like this!" Mr. Sneed protested hotly. In my peripheral vision, I could see the Doctor giggling silently in the corner as he watched us.

"You're gonna get much more than a speaking to if you don't start talking right now, especially after carting me off and leaving me to become dinner for some zombies. Start talking NOW!"

"It's not my fault, it's this house!" Sneed shouted in a shaky voice. All of us were silent as Sneed began his tale. "It always has a reputation. Haunted, but I never had much bother until a few months back, and then the stiffs-" Sneed caught the disapproving eye of Charles at the statement, and cleared his throat, "the uh... the dearly departed started getting restless."

"Tommyrot," Charles dismissed.

"You witnessed it!" Sneed countered hotly. "Can't keep the beggars down, sir! They walk! And it's the queerest thing, but they hang onto scraps, to what they once were! One old fellow who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service, just like the old lady going to your performance, sir..."

"Here you go, miss," the young maid said softly to me, handing me a teacup. "Two sugars and some milk, just how you like it." She placed the cup in my hands and it took a moment before her statement caught up to my brain; I know for a fact I've never said a word to her about how I normally drank tea. How did she know?

"Oh Charles, you were there," the Doctor said, bringing me back to the conversation.

"I saw nothing but an illusion," Charles insisted stubbornly.

"If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time. Just shut up," the Doctor answered in a patronizing tone and the scandalous look on Charles' face was enough to make me roll my eyes at the Doctor; it seemed that he could be rude to anyone, no matter how famous they were. The Doctor turned his attention back to Sneed, "What about the gas?"

"That's new, sir. I've never seen anything like that."

"Means it's getting stronger," The Doctor mused, "the rift's getting wider and something's sneaking through."

"What's the rift?" I asked him.

"It's a weak point in time and space," he explained. "It's a connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories most of the time."

"That's how I got the house so cheap," Mr. Sneed said. "Stories going back generations." Behind him I noticed Charles leaving the room, closing the door behind him. "Echoes in the dark, queer songs in the air. And this feeling, like a shadow passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business; just what people expect form a gloomy old trade like mine."

"I'm sure," I grumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose; my head was starting to pulse painfully behind my eyes and I'm honestly trying to reign in my emotions. I'm trying my best to be rational, and after a few deep breaths I'm pretty close to calm when I heard the door shut and the Doctor was nowhere to be seen. Calm or no, I am not going to be in a room by myself with Sneed; I step out of the room without a word, going to find him when I saw the maid carrying a heavy tray and looking as though she was about to drop it, and I rush forward to help her.

"Please miss, you shouldn't be helping, it's not right!" She protested.

"It's no problem at all," I brushed off. "Your boss probably works you to death, anyway." Despite the whole kidnapping thing and the strange comment she made about the tea earlier, she actually seemed very nice. She led me into her kitchen and we place the heavy tray near the sink, and I watched as she took a nearby cloth and began to clean. "So, what's your name?"

"Gwyneth, miss."

"Have you been working for Mr. Sneed long?" I questioned.

"Since I was twelve, miss. Mr. Sneed was ever so kind to take me in after my mum and dad died of the flu. He's not so bad, Mr. Sneed."

"Does he pay you?"

"Yes, miss. Eight pounds a year."

My eyes widened in shock. "Eight pounds a year?"

"I know! I would've been happy with six!" Gwyneth responded excitedly. I'm still reeling from her answer, and it's a stark reminder that I'm not in 2005; Sneed would never get away with something like that back home. _You're supposed to act like you're from 1869!_

"I'm so happy for you, Gwyneth!" I respond with what I hope is sincerity and she smiles. "Did he leave you any time for school?"

"Oh yes," Gwyneth replied. "I went every Sunday, nice and proper. We did sums and everything." She leaned in close to me and lowered her voice like she was confessing a secret, "To be honest, I hated every second."

"I wasn't a big fan of school, either," I replied, the two of us giggling quietly; academically, I excelled at school. My foster parents were so proud and excited when they found out I'd graduated at the top of my class and received a full scholarship to University; but I always had a hard time making friends and relationships in school due to my anxiety issues. Everyone thought I was just too quiet and weird, even Rose's mate Shareen thought I was just too strange.

"Don't tell anyone," Gwyneth confided, "but one week I didn't go and I ran down the heath, all on me own!" She giggled nervously and I laughed.

"My parents would never let me do that," I said. "My friend Rose though, she and her mate Shareen would sneak out of school and go to the shops to look at boys." Gwyneth instantly quieted and sobered up as though the thought of looking at boys was so unbecoming. Which, since this was 1869, it probably was.

"Well I don't know much about that, miss." She resumed her cleaning with a faint pink tinge to her cheeks.

"Neither do I, really. I guess all I really know how to do is hit people in the face." That statement filled me with such a deep sadness, a sadness that I've tried so long to squash and forget, but I've never been rid of it; a sadness that has always been a part of me when I think of where the sadness came from in the first place…

"Now miss, it's not good to think on things that are in the past," Gwyneth said comfortingly, startling me for a moment. "Anyone who has ever met you will tell you that you do not have a violent bone in your body; you only reacted the way you did because you were afraid. Someone who was supposed to protect you had hurt you in the past… so young, too, it's such a shame. But the good Lord had blessed you with a new family, and close friends that help you. Don't let the past continue to hurt you, miss." Gwyneth smiled at me, as though she was just talking to an old friend, but I was absolutely frozen to my spot as the iciest chill ran through my entire body; there was no way she should know any of that, especially about how when I was younger. _There's no way she should know about…_

"Gwyneth, how do you know all this?" I ask cautiously, my throat croaky.

The young maid must've realized what she said because her ears turned bright pink as she chuckled and stammered, "Mr. Sneed says I think too much. I'm all alone down here. I bet you've got dozens of servants, haven't you, miss?"

"Oh no, no servants for me," I answered.

"And you've come such a long way," Gwyneth mused, looking at me with a rather intense gaze, sending me further on edge.

"What makes you say that?"

"You're from London," Gwyneth answered matter-of-factly. "I've seen London in drawings, but never like that! All those people rushing about…half-naked for shame! And the noise… the metal boxes her racing past… and the birds in the skycty.…" her piercing eyes widened, "No… no, they're metal as well! Metal birds with people in them! People are flying!"

I'm trying so hard to be calm as this woman from the mid-19th century, who had never even known life outside of Cardiff, was describing cars and airplanes to me, but on the inside I'm frightened to my core.

"And you, you've flown so far!" she continued ominously. "Further than anyone! The things you've seen… such pain you've felt… the darkness…. The big bad wolf." Her face suddenly went deathly pale and she stumbled back, almost as if she was afraid of me. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, miss!" she cried.

"Gwyneth..." I whispered, trying not to frighten her despite being spooked myself.

"I can't help it! Ever since I was a little girl, my mum said I had the sight, she told me to hide it!"

"But it's getting stronger." The Doctor's voice rumbled from behind us, making us both jump as we found him standing in the doorway and looking at Gwyneth expectedly. "More powerful, is that right?"

"All the time, sir," she meekly confessed. "Every night, voices in my head…"

"You grew up on top of the rift. You're part of it, you're the key."

"I've tried to make sense of it, sir. Consulted with spiritualists, table-rappers, all sorts!"

"Well, that should help!" The Doctor said with a soft smile. "You can tell us what to do."

"To do what?" I piped; where the hell is he going with this?

The Doctor, with his usual cheeky smile, answered in a serious voice, "We're going to have a séance."

 **I became one of those authors I hate.** **I am so sorry this took so long to post, these past few months have been an absolute shit storm with finishing school and switching jobs and trying to get my registration and trying to buy a car and my laptop dying on me and having to wait forever to replace it and so many other things that it's making me dizzy. Also, I will admit this wasn't my favorite episode of Series One, so I've been trying to motivate myself to write this. But yeah, I'm finally done with school, and I passed my registration exam so I'm officially a Registered Medical Assistant. The clinic I interned for hired me on as a Phlebotomy Floater so I travel all over the state to the different clinics and work in their laboratories and draw blood samples and flu samples and whatnot. I'm a certified vampire. ;) Because of the constant travelling (which some clinics are over an hour away), it's not left me enough time to write as much as I want to. But, I've been putting my entire life pretty much on a strict schedule, so I'm gonna do so much better with my updating. I don't want to be those authors who take 5 months to update their story.**

 **On another note…**

 **SPOILER WARNING:** **Oh. My. God. I cannot tell you all how excited I am for this upcoming season. We have a female Doctor for the very first time, and I still cannot get over this news. On one hand, I'm still so depressed that 12 is going to regenerate in the upcoming Christmas special, and I'm going to be a complete mess because Peter Capaldi has done one of the best performances that I've ever seen on Doctor Who, and I'm gonna miss him so much. On the other hand, I'm really excited to see how Jodie Whittaker does in the role. She's a really great actress, and I think that she's gonna be great.**

 **Arashi- IV of VI: I'm glad you like the story, and I'm glad you like Annie! I really appreciate the review! Thank you for reading!**

 **Thank you to everyone for favoriting and following this story, and again I'm sorry this took so long, and I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible. Thanks so much for reading!**


	6. The Unquiet Dead, Part 2

Fifteen minutes later, The Doctor, Mr. Sneed, Charles, Gwyneth, and I were sitting at a round table in the parlor, and I couldn't believe that we were actually about to do this; I've never been to a séance before, how the hell should I know what happens during these things!?

"This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists, back in big town," Gwyneth instructed, sitting at the beginning of the table. "Come, we must all join hands."

"I can't take part in this," Charles declared, standing from the table.

"Humbug," The Doctor teased at the man, "Come on, open mind."

"This is precisely the cheap mummery I strive to unmask. Séances!" Charles was looking right at Gwyneth now with a condescending glare. "Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing!" Gwyneth cast her eyes downward and embarrassment started creeping up in her face, and I gently squeezed her hand while shooting a glare at him.

"Oi, lay off, Scrooge," I snapped, receiving his glare.

"She's right, don't antagonize her," The Doctor supplied with a smile. "I love a happy medium."

I lightly facepalm at The Doctor's lame joke and giggled. "Did you really just say that?" The Doctor only smiled before turning to Charles seriously. "Come on, we night need you." Charles still looked very apprehensive and uncomfortable about the whole thing, but indeed, the man finally did take the seat on my left. "Good man!" The Doctor cheered as Charles took hold of my left hand, and once all of our hands were connected, he turned to Gwyneth, "Now, Gwyneth," he gently urged, "reach out." She shot a glance in my direction and I smiled encouragingly, and Gwyneth inhaled deeply, exhaling out of her nose as her face morphed into deep concentration.

"Speak to us," she called out, her voice quiet in the dark room. "Are you there? Spirits, come; speak to us that we may relieve your burden." All of us waited with stilled breath, anxiously waiting for anything to happen and I was beginning to feel slightly stupid for even doing this until suddenly from behind me, I heard a very faint and broken whisper very close to my ear, making me jump. Soon, one whisper became another whisper overlapping it, and then another, then another.

"You're hearing that, right?" I trembled as Gwyneth suddenly straightened in her seat, her head lulled backwards with wide eyes staring at the ceiling and her breathing becoming more and more labored.

"Nothing can happen, this is sheer folly!" Charles insisted, although it was starting to sound as though he was trying to convince himself.

"Gwyneth, are you alright?" I asked in a panic as a sheen of sweat started covering her face, her face looking so pained as she began to rock forward and backward in her chair.

"I see them!" she answered. "I feel them!" Her grip on my hand tightened painfully just as the blue gas began to form from the air all around us, the overlapping whispers growing stronger and stronger while the gas began to concentrate and glow brighter right over Gwyneth's head.

"Doctor, what's happening?" I asked.

"They can't get through the rift," he answered. "Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Look deep down, let them through."

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can! Just believe it! I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link!" Her face looked even more pained as the gas thickened above her, trying to break free, and I almost stood and stopped the séance when she suddenly stilled and dropped her expression into a totally empty and void gaze.

"Yes!"

Suddenly, the blue gas took shape behind her and formed three silhouettes, none of them had any distinguishing features about them, no physical features of any kind, almost like an actual ghost. The sight was so unbelievable, unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

"Great God," Sneed gasped in awe, his pudgy face going white as a sheet. "Spirits from the other side!"

"The other side of the universe," The Doctor supplied with a smile.

" _Pity us!"_ the specters cried out to us, the whispers light and childlike. _"Pity the Gelth! There is so little time, help us!"_

"What do you want us to do?" The Doctor asked them.

" _The rift! Take the girl to the rift, make the bridge!"_ I tore my gaze away from the Gelth and saw Gwyneth, still so empty and unknowing, but her mouth was moving along with the Gelth as they spoke, almost as if they were using her voice and possessing her.

"What for?" The Doctor questioned critically.

" _We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction!"_

"Why, what happened?"

" _Once, we had a physical form like you,"_ the Gelth explained mournfully. _"But then the War came."_

"War?" Charles voiced beside me. "What war?"

" _The Time War."_

The answer had me stumped for a moment; I wondered just what kind of "time war" could force the Gelth into the gaseous state, until I glanced over to The Doctor and saw his face become steely and his eyes cast downward shamefully; I suddenly remembered when he had told me of how his people had perished in a war, and my heart gave a painful lurch for him. Was this the same war? Were the Gelth victims just as much as his people were?

" _The whole universe convulsed, the Time War raged. Invisible to smaller species, but devastating to higher forms,"_ the Gelth continued their sad tale. _"Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state."_

"So that's why you need the corpses," The Doctor deduced.

" _We want to stand tall, to feel the sunlight, to live again! We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They go to waste, give them to us!"_ the Gelth begged us, but I was repelled by the idea. Ghost aliens using the dead bodies of loved ones, walking down the street, becoming someone else… the thought was just so _wrong._

"You can't do that!" I vehemently voiced.

"Why not?" The Doctor challenged me.

"What do you mean, why not!? They can't use them, it's-"

"Not decent?" he interrupted me. "Not polite? It could save their lives."

" _Open the rift!"_ the Gelth begged desperately. _"We're dying, help us! Pity the Gelth!"_ the silhouettes began to dissipate above Gwyneth, swirling back into the gas lamps until the room darkened and Gwyneth slumped forward, almost landing face first on the table.

"Oh my god," I jumped form my chair and cradled her head, straightening her in her chair. Her skin had broken into a cold sweat and she was shivering. "Gwyneth?" I pried one of her eyelids open and her pupils were dilated and unfocused.

"All true," Charles croaked quietly, the man beginning to turn an unsettling shade of green. "It's all true."

"We've got to get her reclined," I ordered quickly; The Doctor lifted Gwyneth in his arms and laid her on a nearby sofa, and I grabbed some nearby pillows to shove them under her legs to keep them elevated. "Mr. Sneed, could you get me some water, please?" I could hear him shuffling away at my command but paid him no mind as I continued to check on Gwyneth, my fingers pressed on the inside of her wrist; her pulse was strong but erratic, like she had just finished a marathon. Her lips were still pale and quivering, her forehead shiny with sweat. "You still want her to help them now?" I asked The Doctor critically, who gave me a hard glare.

"Yes, I do!" he quipped just as critically. "She can help them make the bridge, cross over, and survive!"

"But Doctor, she won't be able to handle it!" I protested. "They could kill her!"

"The Gelth are facing imminent extinction if we don't do something, Annie!"

"They're not using her," I insisted, just as Sneed came to my side with a cup of water. "If the Gelth really are that desperate, they can find a different way to come through." The Doctor rolled his eyes with heavy irritation as he stepped away from me, but I simply ignored him and took the cup from Mr. Sneed just as Gwyneth began to stir; she gave a start and her eyes searched almost frantically around the room. "Shh, you're alright, Gwyneth," I murmured, holding the cup out to her.

"But my angels, miss," she gasped, "they came, didn't they? They need me?"

"They do need you, Gwyneth," the Doctor answered. "You're their only chance for survival."

"Doctor, leave her alone!" I snapped at him and offered Gwyneth the cup. "Here, drink this slowly." Gwyneth obeyed, and I was so glad to see the color coming back to her face.

"Well, what did you say?" Mr. Sneed asked the Doctor, "Explain it again, what are they?"

"Aliens," the Doctor simply replied.

"Like… foreigners, you mean?"

"Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there." The Doctor pointed upwards towards the ceiling.

"Brecon?"

"Close. They've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked," The Doctor explained. "Only a few can get through and even then they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes."

"Which is why they need the girl," Charles chimed in.

"Jesus, will all of you just stop!?" I snapped angrily, rising to my feet. "We won't let them use her like that!"

"But she can help," The Doctor argued. "Living on the rift, she's become part of it. She can open it up, make the bridge, and let them through."

"Incredible," Charles groaned, " Ghosts that aren't ghosts but beings from another world who can only exist in our realm by inhabiting cadavers."

"Good system, it might work," The Doctor actually considered this, and I couldn't believe my ears.

"Are you being serious right now!?" I cried, ready to tear my hair out over all this. "You cannot let them run around in dead people!"

"Why not? It's like recycling!" The Doctor defended.

"This isn't about recycling bottles or cans! These bodies belonged to regular people, it's not something you can just give away when you don't use it anymore!"

"Do you carry a donor card?"

"Yes in fact I do, but that it totally different-"

"It is different, yeah, it's a different morality," The Doctor barked harshly, towering over me. "Get used to it or go home."

I stood there for a moment, stunned by his audacity before it started shifting to anger right in my stomach. "Did you really just say that to me?" I whisper, my voice relaying the current of fury. He wants me to travel with him and expect me to just go along with anything that he does, no matter how wrong it is, saying it's a different morality!? It may be his morality, but it sure isn't mine.

The Doctor sighed and slumped his shoulders slightly, deflating. "You heard what they said, time's short," he said in a much softer tone. "I can't worry about a few corpses when the rest of the Gelth could be dying."

"Doctor, this is more than just a few corpses," I argued softly as well. "These people didn't give permission for their bodies to be used like this! How do you think their loved ones are going to feel when they see their dead granny walking down the street being possessed by some alien? And the Gelth themselves, we don't know anything about them or what they could be planning once they do cross over or even if they're telling the truth. We can't be so trusting of someone's word so quickly. I want to help the Gelth, I really do, but there's got to be a better way to do it than this."

"Don't I get a say, miss?" Gwyneth piped quietly behind me, silencing our argument. I sobered; no matter how much the situation divided the rest of us, ultimately this was her decision.

"Gwyneth… are you sure you want to do this?" I asked her, and she gave me a small, sure smile.

"Here and now, I know my own mind, and the angels need me," she answered resolutely. "Doctor, what do I have to do?"

"You don't have to do anything," he assured her.

"They've been singing to me since I was a child. Sent by my mum on a holy mission, so tell me."

"We need to find the rift," The Doctor instructed. "This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a weak spot that's weaker than any other. Mr. Sneed," he turned to the undertaker, "what's the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?"

"That would be the morgue," he answered, making me groan; of course it's got to be the creepiest place in the house.

"Let's go," The doctor ordered, and Gwyneth, Mr. Sneed, and Charles rose to their feet.

"We're really doing this, then?" I murmured, still not liking this idea at all, but with a heavy sigh I followed as Mr. Sneed lead the way downstairs to his basement, where there was already a freezing draft that made me shudder and shiver. I had to hold onto the bottom of my dress to keep from tripping on the steps. The morgue itself was pretty spacious, but dark; there were tables lined with corpses covered in white sheets and toe tags, just like I'd seen in scary movies. Instruments were lined on racks beside the tables: saws, pliers, clamps, just the things a mortician would need. At one end of the room there was a small, dungeon-like space that was a little too dark for me to see what was inside; on the opposite side, there was another room lined with large shelf spaces in the walls, similar to where corpses would be kept for safekeeping in a pathologist's office before an autopsy or embalming occurs, and was connected to the main room by an archway in the center.

"Huh! Talk about bleak house!" The Doctor commented dryly.

"Doctor…" Charles said, "I think the room is getting colder…" And the man was right; the temperature in the morgue started dropping with each passing second, so quickly that I was tightly hugging myself to keep warm and my teeth were chattering madly.

"I t-t-think t-they're here," I shiver just as the whispers began to swirl around us, followed by the bright blue wisps leaking out of the gas lamps and saturating under the archway, forming the faceless silhouette.

" _You've come to help!"_ The childlike voice of the Gelth cried joyously. _"Praise The Doctor! Praise him!"_

"Gwyneth, a-are you r-r-really sure about t-this?" I chatter to her, my already frayed nerves going even more on edge as I continued to freeze.

" _Hurry, please! So little time! Pity the Gelth!"_

The Doctor stepped forward, closer to the arch. "I'll take you somewhere after the transfer," he promised, "Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, alright?" he warned.

"My angels!" Gwyneth exclaimed in awe, totally transfixed with the Gelth. "I can help them live!"

"Where's the weak point?" The Doctor asked.

" _Here, beneath the arch!"_ Gwyneth stepped forward into the arch, taking a stand right under the blue silhouette.

"Gwyneth, wait!" I urged, stepping forward and talking her hand to stop her. "I have a bad feeling about this, maybe we should-" Gwyneth silenced me by placing her hands gently on my face.

"My angels," she whispered, lowering her hands and immersed herself fully in the midst of the blue gas under the arch.

" _Establish the bridge!"_ The Gelth commanded. _"Reach out to the void! Let us through!"_

"Yes!" she gasped. "I can see you! I can see you! Come!"

" _Bridgehead establishing!"_

"Come to me! Come to this world, poor lost souls!"

" _It has begun. The bridge is made."_ Gwyneth's jaw dropped and the blue gas started spilling from her mouth like fog, and one by one, the Gelth came through into the morgue, shrieking and swirling wildly above us. But… very few started turning into more and more, and more and more silhouettes started coming through, and I knew that something was going very wrong when I lost count at thirty.

"There's rather a lot of them, eh?" Charles noted.

" _The bridge is open!"_ shouted The Gelth. _"We descend!"_ Suddenly, the blue gaseous silhouette turned into a bright, very demonic red, as though it suddenly turned into flame, making me stagger back as I was closest to it. A low, reverberating growl began to thunder around the morgue. _"The Gelth will come through in force!"_ The once childlike voice of the Gelth had morphed into a deep, monstrous booming voice that sent chills mu my frozen spine.

"You said you were few in number!" Charles accused them.

" _A few billion,"_ The Gelth growled, the flying silhouettes above us descending straight into the corpses lying in the morgue. _"And all of us in need of corpses."_ Suddenly, the bodies slowly began to rise, all of them looking straight at us.

Mr. Sneed rushed forward to her, "Gwyneth, stop this!" he ordered, but she made no move, like she couldn't even see or hear him anymore; did they take her mind as well as her body? "Listen to your master! This has gone far enough! Stop dabbling child, leave these things alone! I beg you-"

"MR. SNEED, NO!" I scream, but it was too late; a corpse had come up behind him and wrapped its arms around Mr. Sneed's neck and snapped it with one clean jerk, dropping his body on the floor like a sack of potatoes. The Doctor pulled me out of the corpses' reach just as the blue gas entered Mr. Sneed's still open mouth and reanimating him with icy, dead eyes.

"I think it's gone a little bit wrong…" The Doctor remarked, and I really had to bite my tongue to keep my snarky comment to myself; I knew something like this was going to happen! I knew the Gelth were too good to be true!

" _I have joined the legions of the Gelth,"_ the now possessed corpse of Mr. Sneed grumbled. _"Come, march with us!"_

"Oh glory," Charles gasped as the bodies began to converge towards us, forcing The Doctor and I to retreat backwards.

" _We need bodies! All of you, dead! The human race, dead!"_

"Gwyneth, stop them!" The Doctor shouted urgently. "Send them back now!"

" _Three more bodies! Convert them! Make them vessels for the Gelth!"_ They continued to chant, getting closer and closer to us.

"What do we do?" I hurriedly asked, and The Doctor responded by turning and opening the small dungeon door behind us and shoving me inside, following me in and locking the iron door. The bodies began to grab hold and try to wrench the door open, extending their hands through the bars in a desperate effort to reach us. So far the iron door was holding up, but how long was it going to last? I noticed that I no longer saw Charles in the morgue with us and he certainly wasn't a part of the walking dead, so that must mean he got out alive, thank God.

" _Give yourself to glory!"_ the Gelth wailed as they continued to reach us. _"Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth!"_

"I trusted you!" The Doctor snarled angrily. "I pitied you!"

" _We don't want your pity! We want the world and all its flesh!"_

"Not while I'm alive," he promised darkly.

" _Then live no more."_ The Gelth doubled their efforts in trying to get the iron door opened; the blue gas continued to swirl and shriek loudly above us and I could feel the beginnings of full-scale claustrophobia setting off a panic attack. With each passing second, the longer I'm in here, in this freezing, cramped space, the harder it's getting to breathe. I don't know how much more I can take of this; it's getting darker and darker and colder and colder and I'm frightened and _icantbreatheicantbreatheicantbreathe-_

"I'm sorry," The Doctor breathed, his voice distracting me from going off the deep end. "I'm so sorry, Annie. You were right. You warned me and I didn't listen, and I brought you here."

"I wanted to come with you, Doctor," I squeaked. "It's not your fault."

"What about me? I saw the fall of Troy! World War Five! I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party, and now I'm gonna die in a dungeon… in Cardiff!" The look of absolute horror on The Doctor's face at the thought of dying in Cardiff would've normally made me howl with laughter, but being here in the morgue in a spooky mortician's house surrounded by murderous ghosts and zombies and being so close to suffocating from claustrophobia had me strangely thinking back to Platform One and how sure I was that I was going to be roasted alive before I was rescued, and the feelings of shame and inadequacy of not being as strong and resourceful. I remembered the phone call to Rose, so sure that I was never going to be able to see her or Mickey again… but I did. Somehow, Iwas able to get out of that alive, and that's when it hits me; I'm going to get out of here alive. I am going to see my friends again if I have anything to say about it.

"We're not going to die," I say, my voice still small but now steady.

"What?"

"You heard me! We're not going to die! I'm sorry Doctor, but I did not come all the way to 1869 just to become monster munch for some ghoulies. Now there's always a way out of something, we just have to go and find it." I was about to continue my little speech but the look on The Doctor's face stopped me; the man looked so surprised that something like that had come out of my mouth, and suddenly he let out a hearty bark of laughter, making me startle.

"You are incredible, Annie Wilkes," he said, so full of pride, and I'm cursing myself for trying to fight a blush in a dungeon. He took hold of my hand, entwining our fingers and squeezing tightly. "I'm so glad I met you," he whispered so sincerely, another comment that floored me; no one had ever said that to me before, not Rose or Mickey, not even Mr. and Mrs. McGuinness. His words made my chest swell almost painfully, so much so that I thought it might burst, and I'm at a loss for words until…

"Me too," I finally squeak, letting out a shaky laugh. The Doctor gave me a wide, blinding smile and I suddenly feel the urge to look away from him; it was like he had suddenly turned into a very bright light. "You wanna know something funny?" I asked.

"What?"

"You're the first person I've met who's ever said that to me." I sneak a glance at the left corner of my eye and see The Doctor stare at me, his blue eyes wide but his expression unreadable. He looked as though he was about to question it when Charles barged back into the morgue, snapping the both of us out of our moment.

"Doctor!" Charles shouted over the noise. "Doctor! Turn off the flame and turn up the gas! Now fill the room, all of it!"

"What are you doing?" The Doctor asked Charles increduously.

"Turn it all on! Flood the place!" Charles dashed to each of the gas lamps, doing just that, and almost immediately the morgue was suffocating with the smell of gasoline. I didn't really see what was so special about turning on the gas except smothering us to death quicker, but The Doctor seemed to realize just what Charles was doing.

"Brilliant, gas!" The Doctor gasped.

"Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous," Charles said, shoving a handkerchief over his mouth and nose.

""Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the host! Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!"

"I hope... oh Lord!" The corpses thankfully ceased on trying to pull the iron door off the hinges but were now instead slowly turning and setting their sights on Charles. "I hope that this theory will be validated soon... if not immediately."

"Plenty more!" The Doctor cried triumphantly, reaching to his left and wrenching a small pipe off the wall. "Annie, cover your face!" I obeyed immediately, shoving my scarf over my face, wondering just how this was going to help get the Gelth out when I saw the small gas tank on the floor beside him that the small pipe was connected to. Instantly, the gush of fumes washed over me, making my eyes water and short of breath, but the effect was immediate; the corpses started to screech and wail as the blue gas was sucked from their mouths and back into the air over our heads. All of the bodies dropped to the floor and Charles sighed in relief as The Doctor and I stepped out of the small dungeon space, which was an instant relief for me. Gwyneth was still standing underneath the arch, the blue gas still spilling out of her mouth like the fumes were drawing it out of her, too.

"Gwyneth, send them back!" The Doctor urged her. "They lied, they're not angels!" The blue gas finally dissipated from her and she dropped her arms, looking so exhausted and defeated.

"Liars?" She sighed lifelessly.

"Look at me," he insisted. "If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength, now send them back!" I place a hand on The Doctor's arm to steady myself; the gasoline fumes were setting off a full-blown migraine and I was starting to see black spots in my vision. "Charles, get her out of here!" He ordered, and when the man made a grab for my hand I jerked away from his grasp.

"I won't leave her!" I protested and reached for her. "Gwyneth, come with us, please."

"They're too strong," she said.

"Annie's world? All those people? None of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift!" The Doctor urged.

"I can't send them back!" Gwyneth ground out wearily. "But I can hold them. Hold them in this place... hold them here. Get out." She then reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a small box of matches.

"GWYNETH, NO!" I scream, racing forward to stop her when the Doctor grabbed hold of my arms.

"Annie, get out!"

"But-"

"Go now, I won't leave her while she's still in danger, now go!" I took one last look at Gwyneth before I finally relented, taking Charles' hand and the two of us racing out of the morgue back into the pitch-black house.

"This way!" Charles coughed as the two of us raced through the corridors and finally made our way out of the house. I took a deep breath of the fresh chilly breeze and only had to wait for a few moments before The Doctor raced out, followed by a massive explosion that sent him to the ground, blasted out the windows, and sent shrapnel towards us. Within moments, the house was completely destroyed by flames. I helped The Doctor to his feet, but my stomach turned to ice when I realized he was alone.

"What happened to her?" I asked him.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "She closed the rift."

"At such a cost," said Charles despondently. "The poor child."

"I did try, Annie, but Gwyneth was already dead. She had been for at least five minutes."

"What?"

"I think she was dead from the minute she stood underneath the arch."

"But how can that be?" I asked. "She stood there and spoke to us. She saved us! How could she do all that if she was dead?"

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy," Dickens said, his words cutting through us. "Even for you, Doctor." The three of us stood, watching the house disintegrate in the fire, and I thought on that poor maid, that really nice, young woman and how no one is going to know how she saved the Universe. No one but us.

1111

"Right then, Charlie boy, I've just got to go into my uh... shed," The Doctor said as we stepped towards the TARDIS, the box covered in a nice thick blanket of snow. "Won't be long."

"What will you be doing after the holidays, Mr. Dickens?" I asked him.

"I shall take the mail coach back to London, quite literally post haste! This is no time to be on my own!" Charles told us excitedly. " I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital."

"You've cheered up!" The Doctor noted with a smile.

"Exceedingly!" Charles agreed. "This morning I thought I knew everything in the world, now I know I've just started! All the huge and wonderful notions, Doctor! I am inspired! I must write about them."

"Um, are you sure about that?" I asked him carefully; if this man starts writing and raving about blue ghosts, they're gonna throw him straight in the loony bin!

"I shall be subtle at first," Charles assured. " _'The Mystery of Edwin Drood'_ still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle... perhaps he was not of this Earth! _'The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals'_! I can spread the word, tell the truth!"

"Good luck with it," The Doctor encouraged, reaching out to shake Charles' hand eagerly. "Nice to meet you. Fantastic."

"It was so lovely to meet you," I say to him. "They're never going to believe this back home." He let out a slightly bashful chuckle and I gave him a brief hug. Despite the man's initial skepticism and salty demeanor, he actually was a real nice man. I wonder if all novelists were like him...

"And you, dear, thank you, but I don't understand. In what way is this goodbye?" Charles asked, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"You'll see, in the shed," The Doctor simply answered and turned to step inside the TARDIS.

"Upon my soul, Doctor, it's one riddle after another with you!" Charles cried. "But after all these revelations, there's one mystery you and your companion still haven't explained. Answer me this... who are you?" The Doctor stood silently for a moment, deep in thought at Charles' question before answering.

"Just a friend, passing through." The answer made me smile; that was one thing I noticed about The Doctor in the short time I've travelled with him; he didn't seem like the type of person who does the things he does to get attention or to look for fame and admiration. Despite his hardened nature, he sees the good in people and genuinely wants to help, and then when he's done, he just goes quietly on to the next trip.

"But you have such knowledge of future times!" Charles pressed him. "I don't wish to impose on you but I must ask you..." He shifted on his feet, genuinely nervous. "My books, Doctor... do they last?"

The Doctor smiled widely and chuckled. "Oh yes!"

Charles' face brightened like the sun. "For how long?"

"Forever," he answered seriously. "Right, shed. Come on, Annie."

"What, in the box?" Charles asked, slightly scandalized as The Doctor and I turned towards the TARDIS. "Both of you?"

"Down, boy!" The Doctor teased. "See ya!" He stepped inside, and I gave Charles one last wave before following The Doctor inside and shutting the door when I suddenly realized something.

"Wait, isn't it going to change history if we let him write books about blue ghosts?" I asked The Doctor, who was busy at the console tweaking some controls.

"In a week's time, it's 1870, and that's the year he dies," The Doctor explained sadly. "Sorry, he'll never get to tell his story."

"Aw," I pouted. "Well, that sucks." The Doctor turned on the monitor and showed Dickens still standing outside the TARDIS, staring intently, waiting for something to happen.

"But in your time, he was already dead. We've brought him back to life, and he's more alive now than he's ever been, Ol' Charlie Boy," The Doctor smiled fondly at the screen. "Let's give him one last surprise." The Doctor flipped a switch to his left and the TARDIS began to warble and wheeze and the two of us watched as Charles' eyes widened in awe at the sight of the box disappearing, making the two of us laugh until...

"Ah!" I cried out softly as a very painful pulse thundered behind my forehead, and I began massaging it to try to stem it. I've had this headache since technically Platform One when I was knocked in the head by the Adherents of the Repeated Meme, but it's steadily gotten worse and breathing in the gasoline fumes have just turned it into a full migraine, and to be honest, I'm starting to feel a little light-headed.

"You alright?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah, I just got a migraine, that's all," I downplayed; there's no use worrying him over something I'm so used to now. "You wouldn't happen to have any aspirin, would you?"

"Come with me," he said, taking my hand and leading me out of the console room, down a long corridor, making two lefts and a right before leading me into a room so bright, I had to squish my eyes shut because the light made my migraine pound even worse. "Lights!" The Doctor called out, and I could tell the room dimmed considerably. "Have a seat on one of the beds."

Tentatively, I open my eyes and find myself in a white room looking very similar to a hospital room, with three white, immaculate cots lined on each wall. To the left, there were shelves and cabinets full of instruments and medicines and linens and many other devices that I didn't recognize. I sat on the bed closest to me, closing my eyes and massaging my forehead. A few feet away, I heard a small 'pop' and The Doctor gently shaking something.

"Here, hold this," he instructed, placing something on top of my head, and I sighed in relief when I felt that it was an ice pack.

"Oh, thank you," I responded with gratitude, holding onto the ice pack for dear life, and it was already making a difference in my migraine.

"Do you get these often?" The Doctor asked, heading back to the cabinet and taking down a jar of something blue.

"Oh yes," I deadpanned pitifully. "For as long as I can remember. None of the doctors can tell me why. I've had MRIs done, CT scans, physical therapy, so many medications, I've changed my diet, but even then, nothing's helped. I've even had Botox injections, and that doesn't work."

"How often do you get them?" He asked, taking another container.

"Every day that ends in 'y'. They're especially bad in the mornings, after I wake up. The medications I'm taking now do help to stem it, but nothing fully gets rid of them. I've just... learned to live my life around it." The Doctor came and knelt down in front of me, holding a glass of clear, purplish-blue liquid.

"Drink this," he ordered.

I raise an eyebrow. "You know I'm not supposed to accept drinks from strangers," I lightly teased him, and he rolled his eyes at me. "What is this?"

"It's a pain relief syrup, from Bachellion Seventy-Nine," The Doctor answered. "It enters your bloodstream faster so that it works quicker. This stuff is dynamite." I took the glass and drank; the syrup was a little hard to get down, reminding me of very strong and chemically tasting cough syrup. But I finished it and held the ice pack to my forehead.

"Thanks, Doctor," I say gratefully. He smiled and sat on the bed next to me. Already, I can feel the pressure in my head begin to deflate and the pounding in my head lessening.

"You're welcome, Annie." He said.

 **Woo! Another one down! Holy shit, I thought I was never going to get done with this one! But I'm so glad I finally did it, I was working overtime to get this finished before the weekend was up.**

 **Sorry this took a while again, I've been going through a lot of health problems these past few months, one of them being migraines, which is something I've suffered from for a LONG time. Now for Annie, there's a reason why she's suffering from her migraines, which will be revealed in the later seasons, but for me, I'm just having to resort to taking Topamax and Imitrex.** **I've also had some problems with me possibly having endometriosis, so that's just another health issue. I'm not trying to start a pity party for me guys, it's just if you notice some time between uploading a couple of chapters, that's one of the big reasons. But I'm okay now! I've got medications, I'm feeling pretty good, and I'm super excited for the next few chapters!**

 **Thank you to all those who have favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. Seriously, you guys make my day.**

 **Arashi – IV of VI:** **thank you so much for the review! Things have definitely calmed down at work over the past few months, thank goodness. Thank you for your kind words! Oh man, I'm so in love with 13, you have no idea. I've got so many ideas for her, I cannot wait. But Twelve... oh Twelve... don't leave me... T_T I'm not ready. I don't want him to go. Christmas is going to be a mess, for sure.**

 **frosty600:** **thank you so much for the review! I'm really glad you're liking Annie, it's taken me a long time and a lot of courage to bring her out into the world. Annie and The Doctor... well, it's gonna be kind of complicated at first. This isn't really spoiler-y, but Annie's got a LOT of emotional baggage to work through, and she's got some really bad self-esteem issues. All I can really say is, it's gonna get emotional, but it's gonna be worth it, I promise. Just don't forget a box of Kleenex.**

 **Thank you so much for reading! If you liked this story, let me know! If you have any questions or suggestions, leave a review! Next chapter, Annie finds out she's been away longer than she thought, London goes on red alert, and Annie receives a very special gift from The Doctor. Can you guess what it is?**

 **See you next time!**


	7. Aliens of London, Part 1

I opened the door of the TARDIS eagerly and saw with a light heart that we had parked right in my back garden. The sky was a bright blue, only a few stray clouds scattered in the expanse. Nothing seemed out of place, or out of the ordinary; life had gone on like it always did, with hardly any time to miss me. The Doctor stepped out behind me, shutting the door behind him and leaning against the blue box with a smug smile on his face.

"How long have I been gone?" I asked him.

"About twelve hours," he answered. The absurdity of it all just made me give a breathless laugh; I was at a party five billion years in the future and met Charles Dickens in the span of twelve hours!? Never in a million years did I think I'd say that.

"Must be pretty early in the morning," I mused. "Just in time for breakfast," I dig my keys out of my front pocket and motioned him forward. "Come on in." I unlocked the screen door that led straight into my kitchen, and was instantly welcomed by the feeling of finally being home. Even though I wasn't really gone long, it felt like I was away for ages and I can finally take a breather. It's not really a feeling I experience a lot, but it's such a nice feeling.

The Doctor followed me inside, his eyes going over the inner workings of my house before settling down at my dining table, watching intently as I filled my kettle and set it right on my stove to warm up. I don't really know why, but the sight of The Doctor sitting at my kitchen table, his leg propped up on another chair seemed just a tad bit strange, but in a good way; the most extraordinary thing in the most ordinary setting.

"I'll have to call my friends soon," I said, reaching up in my cabinet to find my tea tin. "They'll want to hear all about it."

"What are you gonna tell 'em?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know! I've watched the sun expand five billion years in the future, met Charles Dickens at Christmas and I've only been gone for twelve hours?" The Doctor chuckled at my enthusiasm. "I wouldn't even know where to start-" I was suddenly cut off from my speech when I caught the sight of my living room out of the corner of my eye; my living room looked the same as it always did, except that now, the center of the living room was spotless and immaculate. And that was totally wrong.

"What?" The Doctor asked, alarmed by my sudden silence, rising to his feet to stand beside me. "What are you looking at?"

"My living room," I stated. "My living room is spotless, Doctor."

"So?"

"There's supposed to be a shattered coffee table on the floor," I insisted. "The last time I was in here, we were fighting with the killer arm, and I crashed through Mrs. McGuinness' coffee table. I've not cleaned it since then." I stepped to the middle of the room and crouched down, running my fingertips all over the white carpet. There were no shards or splinters anywhere embedded in the carpet! "The glass should still be here!"

The Doctor knelt beside me, taking his sonic screwdriver and flashing it along the carpet, "Nothing here," he murmured, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "No sign of any abnormal activity. Your friends could've cleaned it up," The Doctor mused, his brows furrowed in thought. The idea didn't sit right with me, though; both Rose and Mickey knew of the spare key that was hidden under a hydrangea pot next to my screen door, but if we had only been gone for twelve hours, neither of them would have any time to go home for the night, come back to my house, and clean up my coffee table before The Doctor and I got back. I started to get a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach; a nagging feeling in the back of my head was telling me we were gone longer than we thought.

I rise to my feet. "I'm going to get my post," I announced, striding past The Doctor and to my front door, swinging it wide open, scanning my entire neighborhood block. Again, nothing looked out of the ordinary, nothing looked out of place. Why was it all suddenly so strange?

I find the newspaper, sitting haphazardly on my stoop and just as I grab it, a shocked voice cried out "Is that you, Anais?" I look to my right and my old neighbor Ms. Schaffer rush over to me. Ms. Schaffer was a plump woman in her seventies who had lived next door to my foster parents for over thirty years; her long gray hair always up in a bun on top of her head and no matter what she wore any time of the year, she always wore her old and worn Wellington boots. She was nice enough, but she was the textbook definition of 'snoopy neighbor'.

"Good morning, ma'am," I called, hoping to make this conversation brief before she started asking those really uncomfortably personal questions, like if I was going to get married soon or not, or if I would be interested in a date with her deadbeat grandson.

The old woman hobbled towards me, her boots squeaking loudly in protest, and enveloped me into a tight embrace, squealing loudly in my ear. "Oh my goodness, girl! Look at you! I've not seen you in such a long time!" she released me but kept my upper arms in her big, callused hands. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, uh… has it really been a long time?" I asked timidly.

"Well of course, dear! Feels like it's been ages, and you look so different, too! All that time spent travelling must've done you a world of good!" Now I'm totally confused and the knot in my stomach is getting heavier.

"T-travelling?" I stutter. "I wasn't gone for long at all!"

Ms. Schaffer looked at me like I'd suddenly gone insane.

"Anais, have you lost all track of time?" she asked. "You've been gone-" Before she could even finish her sentence, The Doctor raced forward, almost crashing into us. "Oh Anais, who's this?" Ms. Schaffer gazed at The Doctor with great interest. "Is this a close friend of yours? He's quite handsome, but he seems a little old for you, dear, don't you think?"

The Doctor flushed and cleared his throat, taking hold of my arm. "Excuse us," he said hurriedly, and led me a few feet away before that conversation became even more awkward.

"Doctor, what the hell is going on?" I snap.

"It's not twelve hours, it's twelve months," he answered sheepishly. "You've been gone a whole year. Sorry!" He smiled apologetically, but I was in no mood for smiles.

"A whole year?" I gasp; this was absolutely horrifying!

I've been gone for a whole year!?

Three hundred and sixty-five days!?

 _He's made me miss an entire year of my friends and school!_ No wonder Ms. Schaffer thought I'd gone completely bonkers!

"Is everything alright, dear?" Ms. Schaffer asked. "You're not having a lover's spat, are you?"

"It's nothing like that, I assure you," I clarified with a very fake smile plastered on my face. "Would you please excuse us, Ms. Schaffer?" I grab the lapel of The Doctor's leather jacket and gave a hard yank back towards my house. "Good to see you again!" I shove him through the door and slammed it in a barely contained rage.

"I'm sorry," The Doctor said. "I got the flight a bit wrong again."

"I'll say!" I hissed through gritted teeth. "I missed a year, how did this happen!?" I cover my face with my hands; Rose and Mickey must think I'm dead! And I'm so far behind in school, how am I supposed to catch up now!? I'm going to have to start all over again! This is an absolute nightmare! "Isn't there any way to fix this? Can we go back into the TARDIS and… reset, maybe? Like go back to the first night and start over?"

"We can't," he answered seriously, the resignation in his eyes making my heart drop. "We're established in events now. If I try, I'll rip a hole in the fabric of the Universe." _Great, so there is no way to fix this._ "I'm really sorry," he said sincerely, and even though I'm angry and mortified, I could see in his sincerity that he didn't really mean to send me back so far.

"Let's have some tea," I murmured, lowering my hands. "I've got to make a phone call."

1111

I should not have made that phone call.

"So, let me get this straight," Rose said slowly, pinching the bridge of her nose and releasing a very harsh exhale. "You had a malfunction in your... navigation system or whatever and it took you back twelve months instead of twelve hours?"

The Doctor and I were sitting at my dining table, finishing our tea and trying to explain what had happened. When I called Rose, it took five minutes to calm her down when she started screeching over the phone, and it took her a record of just under ten minutes to reach my house, red faced and angrier than I'd ever seen her.

"Do you have any idea how much all of us have worried about her since the two of you left?" Rose continued, but now speaking directly to The Doctor, who just sat in silence with an unreadable but steely expression. "How long Mickey and I had to cover for her when people were asking about where she's been? Months and months went by and people were starting to think she was dead!"

"Rose, I'm really sorry!" I urged desperately and stood to my feet, feeling lower than low with each passing second. "I didn't think I'd be gone for so long-"

"And then I get your voicemail and I'm really thinking you are dead-"

"Wait!" I interrupted, her last statement making me stop. "What voicemail?" She just stares for a moment before she reached into her pocket and takes out her mobile and dials her voicemail, putting it on speakerphone, and my heart falls out of my chest.

" _Hey Rose, it's Annie. I was hoping I could talk to you one more time. I, uh, I just wanted to tell you that I love you. You're one of the best people in the world. If you could, please tell Mickey and Jackie the same thing. Just tell them I love them."_ The blaring alarm and explosions could be heard in the background, and I could only hide my face in my hands from my embarrassment. _"I've gotta go."_ The message ends abruptly, and I am absolutely horrified. What could I possibly say? I can't even look her in the eye, and I don't even want to know what The Doctor is thinking right now; the man has barely said a word the entire time. How can I possibly fix this? How can I make things right?

"I shouldn't have let you go with him," Rose cursed, furiously stuffing her mobile back in her pocket. "Mickey was right, I should have dragged you back home with us."

"I'm really sorry," I whimpered as hot tears of shame began rolling down my face. _I can't fi_ x _this… I can't fix this…_

"Why didn't you call me back after that voicemail? One phone call just to know you were alive? You could've just given me something so that I could tell everyone you were okay. Jackie is going around the estate putting up fliers and offering rewards thinking you were kidnapped! And people were starting to say that you had another episode and gone off somewhere and-"

"It wasn't like that, I promise-"

"Do you even care about us, really? Do you even care that all of us were sick to death worrying about you while you were off having parties in outer space?"

Wow, that really stung. Really, really stung. "Rose, how can you say that? Of course I care, that's why I came back home! We really weren't gone that long!"

"You sure took your sweet time-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" The Doctor boomed, rising to his feet, startling and silencing both of us as he glared at Rose with such intensity he could've set her on fire. He circled the table to tower in front of her. "Look here, if you're going to have a row with someone, you can have a row with me, but you will not raise your voice to her again, do you understand me!?" His voice was sharp like the crack of a whip and the intensity of a lightning bolt, and Rose actually stumbled back a bit; her face turning ghostly. "She has done absolutely nothing wrong the entire time and you stand here screaming at her like that? Some friend you are!"

"Please stop!" I cried out, silencing him. "Can we please stop screaming at each other for five bloody minutes!?" I can't take this anymore, I can't be here anymore; if I have to stand here for one more second and listen to them, I'm going to suffocate.

 _Igottagetoutofhereigottagetoutofhereigottagetoutofhere_

I turn on my heel and raced up my staircase, all the way to my bedroom, slamming the door with a bang and sinking to the floor in a heap, unable to hold in my pathetic sobs.

How did this happen? How could this have gone so wrong? We were only supposed to be gone for twelve hours, not a full year! Was there anything I could've done to prevent this? I know the sensible part of my mind was telling me that no, I didn't do anything wrong, but Rose's words kept coming back, biting me like fire ants across my skin, reminding me just what kind of failure I am. Maybe she was right; maybe I should've stayed with Rose and Mickey and gone back to my normal life. But Rose herself had said she would've gone with him in a heartbeat if The Doctor asked her, and this could have very easily happened to her. So why was she being so harsh when she encouraged me to go with him?

I take several big gulps of air, trying to calm my sobs. _You need to relax and get yourself together. Crying on the floor like a three-year-old isn't going to do you a bit of good._ I wipe my eyes on my sleeve and count the seconds in my breathing, just like I was taught by one of my old psychiatrists. _Four on the inhale, eight in the exhale._

 _Four on the inhale, eight on the exhale._

 _Four on the inhale, eight on the exhale._

I repeat this mantra over and over in my head like a prayer until I could feel myself coming down from the high cliff of my anxiety, treading softly with small baby steps until my sobs ended completely. I opened my swollen eyes and hungrily took in the sight of my bedroom, the one I've had since I was eight years old, and took in the comfort of how it had stayed exactly the same in the year since I've been gone. Here it felt almost timeless, and for a moment I could forget about everything that happened. I don't really have too much, just a small white wooden bed with blue and white lace comforter on the far right, and a matching dresser and wardrobe on the opposite wall. I have a small desk right in front of my bedroom window right beside the end of the bed. I have a couple of photos scattered here and there, along with a couple of posters of some of my favorite bands. It's simple, but so soothing.

I can still hear Rose and The Doctor downstairs, although their voices now quieter. I run my fingers through my hair and caught a whiff of gasoline and smoke, and my fingertips were tinged slightly gray from dust and ash. I still have Platform One and Victorian Cardiff all over me. I rise to my feet and grab my bathrobe, heading straight to my bathroom and turning on my shower as hot as I can stand it. I strip and stand under the faucet, letting the almost scalding hot water cascade over me before I wash my hair at least twice, scrubbing my scalp and skin until it's pink and starts to sting, wringing out my hair until there's no trace of my near death experiences. When the water runs cold I finally step out and wrap my hair in a towel and tie my robe tightly around me. When I'm picking up my clothes off the floor, there's a quiet, tentative knock.

"Annie?" Rose's quivering whisper made my stomach tie in knots. I really don't want to talk to her right now. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," I answer shortly. It was silent between us for a moment before she spoke up again.

"Annie, I'm really sorry," Rose answered. "I really am. I didn't mean to say those things, really I didn't. I know I was being too harsh back there, but…" I heard her sigh heavily through the door. "You're my best friend. You and me and Mickey, we're always there for each other. But when you left and we didn't hear anything from you, we thought something bad happened… and then I get that voicemail and then you were gone for a whole year, Mickey and I thought something really did happen."

"Rose-" I interjected, but she continued.

"We didn't know how to find you during that time. We couldn't tell anyone what really happened because who would believe that our friend went time travelling with some bloke in a police box?" I let out an involuntary chuckle. "And then everyone started talking about how you must've had another episode and run off to…" I knew where she was going with this, and I had trouble swallowing down the huge lump in my throat. "We all love you, Annie. It's not the same when you're not here, and if something bad happened to you like last time, I'd…" Rose's voice choked before she finished her sentence, and I stood in the middle of my bathroom, once again fighting burning tears at her confession. I reached out and turned the doorknob with hesitation, opening slightly and seeing my friend sitting on the floor beside the door; Rose turned her head and I saw her red and swollen mascara-streaked eyes, and she stood on her feet. Neither of us said anything for a few moments, waiting for the other to begin speaking, so I once again swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Rose, I'm sorry," I tried again. "We didn't mean-"

"No it's okay, I know." Rose replied. "The Doctor explained everything." She let out a breathless chuckle. "If only I'd kept my big mouth shut, right?" I shook my head at her and opened the bathroom door wider, reached out and wrapped my arms around her neck. I didn't want to fight anymore; I'm so exhausted and her words had brought back painful memories that I'd tried so hard and so long to squash down. I don't want to keep us at odds. Rose embraced me tightly, and we stood there in the doorway of the bathroom, not needing to say anything else. I don't know how long we stood there like that; it could've been several sunlit days for all I knew, but finally we released each other, and I hastily wiped my eyes on my terrycloth sleeve.

"So," Rose began in a whisper. "How long were you really gone?"

"Not long at all," I answered. "Two days at the most."

"Where did he take you? Did you meet any famous people?"

I let out a breathy chuckle. "Yeah, I did, actually. Come on, I'll tell you all about it."

1111

"Oh, come on!" Rose protested excitedly as she made another twist in my hair. "Those dresses were always so beautiful, I would've loved to have worn them!"

"Yeah, you say that until you have to run in them," I said, sitting on the floor while Rose sat on my bed behind me, braiding my still damp hair in a French braid. I felt a lot calmer now after the shower, and I had changed into a clean pair of khaki pants and a red plaid long-sleeved blouse. "The dress was beautiful, but it was too tight and too heavy. I don't see how women could stand it, to be honest, and they can keep it. But Gwyneth…" I let out a heavy sigh at the thought of her; she hasn't left my mind since we left Victorian Cardiff. "She was so nice. I wish she was given something better in her life than what she got."

Rose reached the end of the braid and tied it off with a hair tie; she was always talented at the really complicated braids, I never could get the skill like hers. "Thanks, Rose." She smiled and laid her cheek on top of my head, wrapping her arms around my neck. For a moment we said nothing until I realized something. "Where's The Doctor?"

"He's back in his TARDIS, I think," Rose answered. "I hadn't seen him since he told me everything." Immediately, I leapt to my feet and anxiously searched out of my window, overtaken with the fear that he had left me, but I was so relieved to see the big blue police box still parked in my back garden.

I grabbed a nearby pair of white Converse trainers. "I've gotta talk to him." Rose's face set in a deep frown, and I knew that she was worried I was going to run off again. "Don't worry," I soothed her. "I'm not going anywhere." I made my way back down to my kitchen and slid open the glass door, making my way towards the TARDIS. Just as I was raising a tentative hand to knock, the door swung open and The Doctor appeared, startling me and making me cry out, and he looked pretty startled himself.

"Stop doing that!" I exclaimed irritably.

"Me? You're the one who's sneaking up on people!" he countered. "You need a bell around your neck!"

"I'm not that quiet!"

"Yes, you are! Like a little Christmas mouse." The Doctor shut the door behind him and leaned his back against the wood with his arms crossed over his chest, his blue eyes softening. "You alright?" he asked after a moment.

"Yeah I guess so," I replied, turning to lean my back against the TARDIS beside him. "Thanks for talking to Rose earlier."

"Well, if she would've stopped screaming at you for five minutes-"

"She was just worried and frightened, Doctor," I interjected. "I mean, I missed a whole year. Was it a good one?"

"Middling."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"Well if it's this much trouble, are you going to stay here now?" The Doctor asked, and I looked up at him to gauge him; his face was expressionless, giving nothing away. Do I want to stay here? I knew I couldn't leave my friends for so long, but did I want to leave The Doctor so early? There was still so much more I wanted to see. But…

"I don't know," I answered softly, dropping my gaze to my shoes. "I really don't. I don't know if I should leave my friends behind again."

"Well, she's not coming with us," The Doctor answered shortly.

"Come on Doctor, don't be so hard on her," I gently scolded.

"Have you forgotten the way she screamed at you?"

"I told you, we were gone for a year! She thought I was dead, how would you feel if your friend went missing with an alien from outer space? I could've been taken for experiments or something."

"Experiments?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah! Like how people say they were probed and whatnot."

"Probed?" He was looking at me as though he couldn't decide to either laugh of be offended.

"Well, I don't know what else to call it!" I defended weakly, my face turning hot. Wow, that must've sounded really rude.

"Nine hundred years of time and space, and I've never been accused of probing someone." The Doctor deadpanned. I started to think that I really did offend him, but with a sideways glance I saw that he was grinning and silently laughing at me. I lightly elbowed him in the arm.

"I didn't mean that!" I groaned at my embarrassment, making him laugh even harder at me. _Guess I deserved that._ When his laughter died down, I remembered what he said a moment ago."Doctor, you said nine hundred years…"

"That's my age," he answered matter-of-factly.

"You are nine hundred years old!?"

"Yep."

"Well, you look good for it," I said without realizing what was coming out of my mouth. I lower my gaze back to my shoes, hoping that he wouldn't start teasing me for that comment. _I just don't know when to shut up, do I?_

"Oh, I know," The Doctor replied cheekily with a smug little smirk.

"A little full of ourselves, aren't we?" I teased.

"It's just the truth. You said it, not me."

"I think we might have to let some of the hot air out of your head, Doctor, or you just might float away." Before The Doctor had a chance to reply, the loudest horn I'd ever heard in my life sounded above us, and my jaw dropped as a UFO looking structure zoomed above our heads, making us duck to avoid getting hit. A trail of thick black smoke was coming from the rear end of the craft, and it looked very unstable, as though the pilot was steadily losing control.

Rose ran out into the garden with her head craned all the way up to the sky to get a better look. "What the bloody hell was that!?" she cried, her voice barely audible over the noise, but The Doctor and I both were too transfixed on the spacecraft, now hurtling towards the city when the ship suddenly made a sharp left turn right where Big Ben stood, which could easily be seen from my house, and smacked right in the face of Big Ben, easily taking out half of the structure with a huge crater before suddenly diving out of sight with a telltale splash; must've crashed right into the middle of the Thames.

"Oh wow," I gasped, and The Doctor had the most excited grin on his face, laughing heartily and taking hold of my hand. The three of us raced out into the street, past the frightened onlookers who were starting to gather along the streets to find out what was happening. My home is a good few miles from the Thames and by the time we got there, traffic had come to a complete standstill; military caravans had blocked access across the bridge, not letting anyone through. The Doctor tried to get us as close as possible, however the mass gathering of bystanders were slowly increasing by the second.

"It's blocked off," he commented, not sounding the least bit breathless and still smiling like a clam.

"We're miles from the center," Rose said, both she and I panting. "The whole city must be gridlocked. The whole of London must be closing down!"

"I know! I can't believe I'm here to see this, this is fantastic!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Wait, you didn't know this was going to happen?" I asked.

"Nope!"

"Do you recognize the ship?" I continued.

"Nope!"

"Do you have any idea why it crashed?"

"Nope!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we got you," Rose grumbled sarcastically.

"I bet you are! See, this is what I travel for, to see history happening right in front of us!" The Doctor declared, craning his neck to get a better view; how are we going to figure out why it was here if we can't see it?

"Well, let's get closer!" I insisted, partly because I did want a better look and the growing amount of people making so much noise was starting to bother me. "We can use the TARDIS, can't we?"

The Doctor only shook his head. "Better not," he disagreed. "They've already got one ship in the middle of London, I don't want to shove another one on top."

"Yeah, but yours looks like a big blue box, no one's gonna notice," Rose argued.

"You'd be surprised in an emergency like this, there'll be all kinds of people watching. Trust me, the TARDIS stays where it is," The Doctor declared with finality.

"So, history is happening and we're stuck here," Rose said, obviously disappointed, and I tried not to sulk myself; the crowd was gathering closer and the noise of honking horns was starting to get a little louder.

"Yes, we are," he said. There was no way we were going to figure out anything just by standing here, and if the military isn't going to say anything, then how do we know what's happening? And then it came to me like a little lightbulb moment.

"Well, there's one thing we could do," I commented, both Rose and The Doctor turned to me expectantly. "We could watch this on the news." The Doctor grimaced at the idea but said nothing, making me and Rose smile.

1111

 _"Big Ben destroyed as a UFO crash lands in central London. Police reinforcements are drafted in from across the country to control the widespread panic, looting, and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchinson is at the scene."_

The three of us were sitting in my living room, transfixed by the news reports, watching the poor news reporter trying not to be crushed in the stampede of civilians rushing past, either trying to get closer to the river or away from it. Well, The Doctor and I were watching. Rose was sitting behind us, speaking to a frantic sounding Jackie on her phone.

" _The police urge the public not to panic. There's a help line on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family. There's a help line number on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family."_

I take a bite of toast as The Doctor switched to a news station in New York.

" _The military are on the lookout for more spaceships. Until then, all flights in North American airspace have been grounded."_ The channel changed again.

" _The army are sending divers into the wreck of the spaceship. No one knows what they're going to find."_ Another channel switch.

" _The President will address the nation live from the White House, but the Secretary General has asked that people watch the skies."_

"Mum, I said I'm fine, really!" Rose tried to soothe her mother over the phone, but that conversation has been going on for a better part of fifteen minutes now, and Rose looked like she was about to pull her hair out. "I told you, I'm at Annie's, we're perfectly safe!... yes, she knows how worried everyone is, she feels terrible about it already… hold on," Rose rolled her eyes and lowered her mobile, "Jackie says to come over later on tonight," Rose droned, but I couldn't help but smile a tiny bit. Like I said before, I'd always say yes to Jackie Tyler. Rose turned back to her phone. "Yes Mum, I'll be back later… no, you can tell me later… yes, I'm sure Cousin Mo-"

"Oi, I'm trying to listen!" The Doctor snapped.

"Oi, I'm talking to my mother!" Rose retorted. Jackie must've asked her about the noise because she turned back to her mobile and replied "It's no one, Mum… listen, I'll be back later, okay?... Yes, I'll call if anything happens… okay, bye." She hastily ended the call and sighed, turning her attention back to the television.

"How's Jackie?" I ask quietly, finishing the last of my toast.

"Same old, same old." Rose muttered, before going back to the news.

" _They've found a body!"_ The news reporter exclaimed, making the three of us still and straighten our spines. _"It's unconfirmed but I'm being told a body has been found in the wreckage, a body of non-terrestrial origins. It's being brought ashore."_ The camera zoomed to the far edge of the river, where a stretcher was being carried out of the water with a white sheet covering the entirety of it. _"Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of extra-terrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live in Central London. They body is being carried to a secure unit mortuary, the whereabouts is yet unknown."_

"Ugh, I hate when they do that!" I ranted. "Why are they going through so much trouble and not even show if it's really an alien or not?" My hand slammed on the carpet, but in doing so I accidentally smacked my remote control, changing the channel to a random cooking show. "Sorry, sorry!" I cried when The Doctor and Rose began to fuss and I hurriedly changed the channel back.

" _Albion hospital,"_ The news reporter began, now standing in front of a closed gate, the building surrounded by police and soldiers. _"We still don't know whether it's alive or dead, Whitehall is denying everything. But the body is being brought here, Albion Hospital. The road's closed off, it's the closest to the river."_ Cameras around him were suddenly flashing like mad as a car pulled in front of the hospital with a rather portly man in military garb stepping out of it and rushing through the front doors. _"I'm being told that's General Asquith entering the hospital,"_ The reporter continued. _"The building's been evacuated, the patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body contained inside those walls…"_

1111

We continued to watch the news well into the afternoon and early evening. So far there was nothing new being reported other than the prime minister was missing (whoever that was since I'd missed the entire election). Rose had left to start her shift in a little coffee shop in town (a job she found shortly after I left) and she made me swear to meet her when her shift ended at eight. After watching the same report for the third time in a row, I decided to pass the time by cleaning my home (I ended up having to clean out my entire refrigerator). That activity took up half of the afternoon, but in that whole time, The Doctor had not moved from his seat; in fact, he hardly moved at all, his entire attention on the news, intently searching for any tiny detail he could find about the UFO crash. I tried watching the news again, but there was still nothing new reporting about the crash; I was beginning to feel a little restless so I decided to release my energy by beating my drum set.

When my foster parents gave me that drum set on my birthday, the only place that they could put it was in the shed behind the house; just a white SPL kit with 3 cymbals, a single bass drum with two pedals for doubling, a snare drum, 2 tom toms and a floor tom with a tiny stool to sit on. To some, that may not seem impressive, but that was easily the best gift I'd ever received, and every day, I'd play and play for hours, letting go of my frustrations and anxiety until I was completely exhausted, which was fine for the McGuinness's, as long as I stopped after dark. My drum set was sitting under a large white sheet, protected from the blanket of dust that had been collecting in the year I was gone (Thankfully I didn't have to do any tuning), and with my mp3 player set to random, I play until the sky turns into a deep indigo; my hands and legs are throbbing, I'm covered in sweat, and I can feel a blister forming in my palm. But I feel great.

I'd been so focused on my drumming that I didn't notice anyone watching me; I took off my headphones and jumped when I saw The Doctor standing by the door, clapping with a big grin on his face.

"That sounded like a workout," he commented.

"How long was I in here?" I asked.

"Three and a half hours."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." I stood up, taking a moment to balance my quivering legs. "Anything new?"

The Doctor only shook his head. "Nothing," he replied. "Your whole street's having a party, though." I peeked over his shoulder and sure enough, Mrs. Shaffer's back garden was just hopping with everyone on the block, drinking and partying with a sign on her fence reading "WELCOME ALIENS".

"Well, at least we're taking it better than expected," I joke, earning a soft chuckle from The Doctor. He suddenly turned on his heel and made way for the TARDIS.

"Oi, where you going?" I followed right behind him.

"Nowhere," he answered, although his response was a little too innocent and too quick. "It's starting to get a little too human for me." He jabbed his thumb over to the party next door. "History just happened and they're talking about where they can buy dodgy top up cards for half-price. I'm off on a wander, that's all."

"Uh huh," I answer, totally unconvinced.

"I mean it!"

"Right, there's a crashed spaceship in the Thames, sending London to the brink, and you're just 'wandering'?" I deadpan, making quotation marks in the air with my fingers.

"Nothing to do with me!" The Doctor defended. "That was a genuine crash landing! Angle of descent, color of the smoke, everything. It's perfect!"

"Well?"

"Well, maybe this is it! First contact! The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race! I'm not interfering, cause you got to handle this on your own. That's when the human race finally grows up. Just this morning, you were tiny and small and made of clay! Now you can expand!" His face lit up with his dopey grin and brewing excitement, making me smile.

"Well, wherever you wander to, Doctor, just be careful, okay?" I asked him, suddenly having a blip of worry for him.

"Don't worry about me, go and celebrate history!" The Doctor encouraged. "Spend some time with your friends." He turned away began to head inside the TARDIS, and for a moment I felt a sudden but fierce fear of abandonment, like in the stories of someone going to the store to get milk but never coming back.

"I'll see you later, right?" I had to ask, desperately hoping for reassurance that he would come back; he turned back to gaze at me for a long moment before patting down the pockets on his jacket before reaching in and pulling out a long chain.

"Tell you what," The Doctor replied, taking hold of my left hand and slipping the chain onto my palm; it was actually a small, plain silver Yale key with no serial numbers or identifying features. "TARDIS key. About time you had one."

"A TARDIS key?" I gasped in shock.

"Yep. That key opens the doors of the TARDIS," The Doctor explained. "With this key, you'll be able to come and go as you please, whenever you want."

"Oh my," Suddenly the key seemed to feel ten pounds heavier as it laid in my hand, and I clung to it desperately. I was immediately reminded of Platform One when The Doctor supercharged my mobile and the feeling that something had been cemented between us. Now, with this key in my hand, there was once again that awe that we were deeper connected; after this, there's no turning back. "Thank you," was all I could say to him, all other words of gratitude escaping my brain. But The Doctor smiled warmly at my thanks.

"See you later," he said, turning once more and stepping inside the box, and not a moment later, the now familiar wheeze and groan filled the evening, and the box disappeared before me, leaving me standing alone in my garden. I look once more to the key, the item that now became the most priceless treasure I own, and slipped the chain around my neck, securing it under my shirt.

 ***sigh* Hey everyone. Welcome back.**

 **So, where the f**k have you been, Rabbit?**

 **Good question. I had to take a couple of months off because my health had taken a turn for the worse; my migraines have become so frequent and intense that would sometimes make me become bedridden. Mix that with a full time job and it's like riding a malfunctioning roller coaster: right around the corner is a waiting disaster. Thankfully I was referred to a neurologist a couple months ago and we're starting to make headway with figuring out what exactly is causing the chronic pain and what to do to treat it. On the few days where I had some pain-free time, I would work on this as much as I could. So hopefully, my treatments will make me better and I won't have to wait several months to upload again. This story is not abandoned by any means; even if it's going to take me a while, I'm gonna see it right to the very end. So I deeply apologize for the hiatus and I appreciate the love and support for my story. Thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed my story, it really means so much.**

 **Arashi- IV of VI:** **Thank you so much for the review! Yeah, migraines are no joke, believe me. If given the choice, I would rather watch a 12 hour, commercial free marathon of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians". The pain is real, man.**

 **Thank you to everyone who is enjoying the story! Leave me a review if you have any questions or suggestions, or if you just wanna say hello, that's perfectly fine, too! Let me know what you think! Next chapter, The Doctor gets found out, Annie teams up with an MP from Flydale North, and realizes something sinister is hiding in 10 Downing Street.**

 **See you guys later!**


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